5 Howard County High School Students Become the First to Attend 2017 Junior Achievement National Student Leadership Summit

Junior Achievement of Central Maryland Inc. (JA), a non-profit organization dedicated to educating young people to succeed in a rapidly changing economy, announced that five Howard County high school students from the JA Rising Women program became the first group to represent JA of Central Maryland at the 2017 JA National Student Leadership Summit (NSLS) in Washington, D.C.

The JA Rising Women entrepreneurship program consisted of 17 Howard County high school students who worked as a strategic team to found Medley, a company that produced “Heart of HoCo,” a compilation book of recipes that celebrates the cultural diversity within Howard County. After taking home the title of JA of Central Maryland Company of the Year at a regional competition, Medley was selected as one of the 15 teams to compete in the NSLS.

The five Howard County students who attended the summit were Ashley Martin, CEO and recent graduate of Atholton HS; Annabelle Gao, CFO and rising junior at Marriotts Ridge HS; Jelena Chen, VP of Supply Chain and recent graduate of Mt. Hebron HS; Pritha Saha, VP of Marketing and rising junior at Mt. Hebron HS; Priyanka Kargupta, CTO and rising senior at Mt. Hebron HS.

“We are beyond proud of our JA Rising Women students for representing JA of Central Maryland as the first group to attend the NSLS,” said Jennifer Bodensiek, President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland. “Taking on the challenge of managing their own company, these young women proved their entrepreneurship skills with the success of their product. Their accomplishments validated the impact of the JA Rising Women program, and we look forward to seeing it continue to advance in the future.”

The event took place from June 19-21 in the nation’s capital, where the team met and networked with teen entrepreneurs from across the United States. The young women promoted their company to members of Congress and business leaders by presenting in the Entrepreneurship Expo in the U.S. Senate’s Kennedy Caucus Room and on stage at The Phillips Collection.

Photo caption (from left to right):

Priyanka Kargupta, CTO and rising senior at Mt. Hebron HS; Annabelle Gao, CFO and rising junior at Marriotts Ridge HS; Ashley Martin, CEO and recent graduate of Atholton HS; Pritha Saha, VP of Marketing and rising junior at Mt. Hebron HS; Jelena Chen, VP of Supply Chain and recent graduate of Mt. Hebron HS