‘Love & Hip Hop’ star Yandy Smith-Harris, left, leads a discussion with actress and singer Antonique Smith.
EAST ORANGE, NJ — The East Orange Mayor’s Office of Employment and Training, also known as MOET, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs, the East Orange School District and V.I.P. Online Academy, recently held a kickoff pep rally to celebrate the beginning of a new virtual after-school initiative, which is an extension of last year’s successful virtual Summer Work Experience Program.
“The kickoff was fantastic,” East Orange public information officer Connie Jackson said on Feb. 27. “It was held on Feb. 3 and featured special guests, including East Orange natives actress and singer Antonique Smith and Howard University professor Bahiyyah Muhammad.”
At the virtual event, Smith was interviewed by “Love & Hip Hop” star Yandy Smith-Harris.
“You can do anything that you desire,” Smith said. “You just have to go for it. There’s going to be ‘noes’ no matter what, but you have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe that this is what you were meant to do. You have to love it. I love that you mentioned people are making money playing video games. If that’s what you love, you have to ignore the negativity. For any entrepreneur, the going gets tough and it can be tough. Find what you love to do.”
Last year’s program saw a success story in Nyla Cheeseboro, a STEM Academy sophomore and SWEP alumna whose Slay Baby Slay company competed in the final round of Seton Hall University’s “Shark Tank” for $50,000 in scholarships and prizes.
Now, MOET will facilitate the Mayor’s Youth Entrepreneur Program through weekly virtual sessions held on Thursdays, during which students will have the opportunity to choose between two focus tracks: starting your own business or makeup and skin.
According to a press release about the initiative, each training program will take place over the course of eight weeks, with the intention of students starting and developing their own businesses. The end of the program will be marked with a closing ceremony to showcase the student businesses and present gift cards to participants.
“The Mayor’s Youth Entrepreneur Program is an extension of the Summer Work Experience Program, which provides students with skills, training and membership to help them harness their talents into opportunities to start their own businesses and make money now,” Mayor Ted Green said on Feb. 27.
According to Jackson, East Orange wants to empower its youth through self-employment.
“Entrepreneurship has always been a foundation of our community as small, family-owned businesses are the lifeblood of our local economy,” Jackson said on Feb. 27. “We want to teach our young people how to create and establish businesses with strategies for long-term, sustainable success. Marketing, sales, customer service, strategic planning, and financial acumen are all critical components to being a successful entrepreneur, and this program provides a solid foundation for our students to build upon.”
Also offering an alternative program to introduce non–college specific careers, MOET will include certificate programs, such as the OSHA 30 certification and entry-level corporate jobs; participants must be 17 or older.
Though this program differs from the Mayor’s Youth Entrepreneur Program, both could ultimately lead to entrepreneurship.
“The alternative career program that MOET will offer is different from the Mayor’s Youth Entrepreneur Program,” Jackson said. “It is different because the focus is on apprenticeships and certifications to work in the construction trades, which ultimately could lead to entrepreneurship, but on a different track once hands-on experience is gained.”
In conjunction with V.I.P. Online Academy, the East Orange School District will host virtual after-school sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to address social and emotional wellness and social justice.
Also, the East Orange Recreation Department will facilitate daily virtual physical fitness and nutrition sessions.
“What’s great about virtual is our ability to facilitate larger numbers of students and bring in experts from all around the world,” Jackson said. “We launched the virtual program for the first time in the summer and had a great success.”
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