7 youth graduate from Carson City Entrepreneur program

The Carson City Juvenile Services Department graduated seven youths from their Entrepreneur Mindset program Monday.

The program takes youth, from ages 12 to 17, through a 10-week program designed to implement life and job skills to the youth to better prepare them for their future. The program’s objective is for students to come away feeling like they have an extra tool in their toolbox to draw from when facing real world situations.

The Entrepreneur Mindset program relies heavily on themes of honor in the workplace, what it means to set up and be responsible for a business and the importance of partnership in both business and in life. Youth are also taught how the sum of decisions, especially decisions made in their youth, can chart the path for a better life.

Entrepreneurship shows students how to take responsibility for their actions and make appropriate decisions with appropriate boundaries, said Chief of Juvenile Services Ali Banister.

This is the sixth graduating class in the three years the department has held this program.

After completion of the program, facilitator Jeff Glass will assist the youth in finding jobs, completing job applications and assisting them in their college aspirations. One graduate of the program has recently been accepted to Harvard and others paired with jobs throughout the community.

The graduation ceremony was attended by local dignitaries including Mayor Bob Crowell and Sheriff Ken Furlong.

“Programs like the Entrepreneur Mindset program are a great way to build the youth of our future and to build a better community,” Crowell said at the ceremony.

Graduates’ parents and Juvenile Probation staff were also in attendance to show their support to the youths.