Edmondson Westside High School senior Sa?rai Jefferies will be in New York City on Thursday for the first National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge sponsored by Smith Barney and the National Foundation for the Teaching of Entrepreneurship.
Jefferies, 17, developed her own line of greeting cards, Amazing Creations, as part of the NFTE program last year.
She will present her business plan to a panel of judges that include Donald Lufkin, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and cofounder, president and chief executive of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Former National Basketball Association All-Star Allan Houston, president of Allan Houston Enterprises, also is a judge.
“I am really excited to be representing Edmondson Westside and Baltimore in the competition,” said Jefferies, who has a chance to win up to $10,000 in the business challenge.
NFTE teaches students in low-income communities the skills to start their own small business while encouraging them to excel in school and life.
