Junior Achievement looks to showcase youths for accomplishments

Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania is again looking to showcase and celebrate 18 youths ages 18 and younger for their accomplishments and achievements.
They would be the members of the second class honored in JA’s 18 Under Eighteen initiative. Earlier this year, JA recognized the inaugural class, which represented a diverse cross-section of the region and had varied backgrounds.
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.{/span}
“We started this last year as a way to recognize young people who are doing great things in the area,” said Kim Sterling, marketing and communications manager for Junior Achievement of Western PA. “We wanted to tie our mission into recognizing students for things they are already doing. So, we scoured the area looking for students who either had their own businesses, were community activists or were just doing great things in the community and deserved to be recognized.”
The inaugural class of honorees ranged in age from 10 to 18 and from locations as far away as Cambria and Erie counties.
Among them is Yoshna Venkataraman, a student at Upper St. Clair High School who was 16 when honored. She was recognized for being an advocate for mental health.
She founded and now serves as the president of the student-run organization, Mending Mindsets, which aims to spread mental health awareness to the students at Upper St. Clair High School.
“We were connected with 18 amazing honorees for our first class,” Sterling said.
JA is seeking nominations for its second class through Oct. 28, with selected candidates debuting Jan. 10. An awards presentation will take place on Feb. 7 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Nominations for individuals 18 years or younger residing in the 56-county footprint of Western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia will be accepted. Parents, teachers and peers can nominate individuals electronically at westernpa.ja.org.
“We look at how the students show leadership qualities within their community,” Sterling explained. “We also look at if they have any community activism, ways they’re supporting other students, ways they’re supporting their community, ways they’re treating other people, just going above and beyond their call is what we’re looking for.”
Candidates will be chosen by a diverse panel of judges in the corporate, nonprofit, community, and educational sectors of the region.
Honorees also receive benefits of recognition in the media, leadership training and real-life experiences such as mentoring and job shadowing through local leaders and organizations.
“We are excited to discover another talented and passionate group and connect them to opportunities that can propel them in their personal and professional journeys,” said Patrice Matamoros, president of Junior Achievement of Western PA. “Last year, we connected many of the honorees to additional opportunities that led to benefits such as scholarships or new relationships. We are committed to helping them in any way we can.”