Kenya Mouning, GMHS class of 2020, was one of three newly graduated Connecticut high school students who earned scholarships from Junior Achievement of Southwest New England in recognition of their dedication, participation and leadership in local JA education programs.
The students received $1,000 scholarships. Junior Achievement is a global leader in providing cutting-edge, hands-on financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work-readiness education, bringing students together with community volunteers who provide experiential learning and inspire students to dream big and reach their potential.
Mouning participated in the JA Entrepreneurial Academy with The Hartford in 2019. With guidance from volunteer mentors, she and her student colleagues created the student company, Simplex, winning the first round of the FedEx Junior Business Challenge, a local business competition where Mouning and her teammates presented their business idea, competing against three other JA student-led companies.
Mouning, who successfully led the marketing department, and three other students, went on to represent JA and Simplex in Atlanta at the FedEx Junior Business Challenge Finals.
“I will apply the knowledge and skills learned through the Junior Achievement Entrepreneurial Academy to inform my educational journey as I learn the necessary skills to teach my students excellently as well as learn how to run a successful and impactful business,” Mouning wrote in her essay. “This education will help me to properly establish my school and to start a movement that demonstrates the incredible power that education combined with love can have on a life.”