We just wrapped up our final Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge of the year, and now the countdown to nationals on October 8 is on! On June 16, NFTE students from across the Mid-Atlantic region came together to pitch their original business ideas at the NFTE Mid-Atlantic Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. 🥇 Dorian Guzman-Lora, Energize – a gamified learning site using video games to make STEM education more accessible. 🥈 Brandom Guzman-Lora, Kimberlite AP – an online platform connecting students with certified AP instructors. 🥉 Christina Dolkar & Chrisbel Martinez, Athletic Unity – affordable, high-quality athletic apparel for schools and teams. We were also proud to honor Marsha Corelien as our Volunteer of the Year and Valley Bank as our Corporate Volunteer of the Year, both recognized for their dedication to coaching and supporting NFTE students. The NFTE Mid-Atlantic Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge was presented by EY US and Santander Bank US, with associate support from PayPal and Zuora. (fb)

Thousands of global leaders came together at this year's Global Entrepreneurship Congress hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) in Indianapolis from June 2 to 5 and one message stood out clearly that entrepreneurship education needs to start early. Stephanie Alvarado, NFTE’s Director of Global Programs, spoke on the panel “Seeds of Innovation: Building Entrepreneurial Mindsets in K–12 Classrooms,” sharing how we can embed entrepreneurship early through real-world learning, educator support, and strong school–community–industry partnerships. This work has always been core to NFTE’s mission and it’s encouraging to see the global community recognize how important it is to begin early. We're excited to keep moving this conversation forward! (fb)