Teacher of the Year at NFTE's Gala

Welcome to NYC. We have just arrived in Times Square to attend NFTE’s Annual Dare to Dream Awards Gala. My husband, Kevin is with me. It’s our second trip the New York & we want to squeeze in everything possible!

Later, we attend an Italian dinner with NFTE founder, Steve Marriotti. During the dinner, we meet teachers from across the United States and 9 other countries. 

Wednesday morning we stop by the set of the Today show. There was a large promotion for the Summer Olympics –just 100 days away. On the show this morning were gold medal winners from the 1948 Olympics.

The remainder of the morning we visited the WTC Memorial. The work so far is awesome. Security @ the WTC is tight.

After this we head to NikeTown! Five floors of the latest in athletic wear. They even have a special design gallery to custom design your kicks. My husband scores a new pair of shoes… Who wouldn’t love this store?!

That night we attend the Gala—held @ Marriott Hotel (Times Square). The showcase by the Young Entrepreneurs of the Year are super. We had a great time & enjoyed our experience.

Thanks so much for this opportunity!

 - Guest Blogger, Janet Hartley, Wichita West High School Youth Entrepreneurs Teacher & NFTE Teacher of the Year

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Gala

Kenon Thompson is a guest blogger for us this week. Kenon shares with us his adventures in New York City during the NFTE Gala. Kenon was awarded the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award! Congrats and thanks for sharing your experience with us!

http://www.kenonthompson.com/2/post/2012/05/2012-nfte-global-young-entrepreneurs-of-the-year.html

My Overall Experience

Check out this Fox 4 News clip of Danielle Stegall and read below from Danielle herself about her experience that starts TODAY!


Well, tomorrow is the big day! As I prepare to leave for New York tomorrow I’m taking time for last reflections of my experience up to this point. I have learned a great number of things during this whole experience. It has changed my entire outlook on and attitude towards life. I never knew how hard I could really work until I had to prepare for this competition. At times there were late days, late nights, and weekends but I have a sense it was all worth it and will all pay off in the future! I feel I have accomplished a huge goal in my life. Working with YE to prepare for the competition has been a positive experience though at times I had may ups and downs with Mr. Birmingham (two different personalities trying to work together…interesting) but I really appreciated him working with me and putting up with all of my baggage and pushing me to that next level. The process in working and learning how to prepare for the competition has been very hard but I am very proud of how much it has grown. I didn’t understand at first how much I really had to do until it got closer to the competition then everything started to seem so real. I am afraid of making mistakes while I present but with all the different rehearsals and presentations I feel I am prepared. I went home some days mentally exhausted and it still seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere but I feel I am prepared to do my best. The competition is here!  It’s time to put on a show and show the judges what I have to offer! Regardless of the outcome, I know I worked extremely hard and will do my best come Thursday. Wish me luck!

Danielle Stegall

The Drive of an Entrepreneur - Danielle S.

One thing many learn after spending a significant amount of time with me is I am a competitor…in just about everything! The past five weeks I’ve had the opportunity to work and mentor YE alum Danielle Stegall (2011 Schlagle High School), to help prepare her for the 2011 Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Anytime one of our students earn an opportunity to compete at any level I want it so bad for them (sometimes more than they do) due to my competitive nature. It has been such a joy to work with a young lady who I know wants it more than me! I’ve learned from Danielle’s previous competitions that she is a natural public speaker. What I’ve seen from this experience is she has the true drive and motivation of an entrepreneur. I have never in my years as an educator had a student say, “I’m available from after school until whenever” or ask, “Can we get together and work for a few hours on Sunday afternoon?” This is what I believe will allow Ms. Stegall the opportunity to travel to New York and represent YE at the highest level. If I even mention the phrase, “If you make it to the next round” she quickly says, “When I make it to the next round”. The confidence is there! The work ethic is there! The plan is there! I watched her present this evening to the Board of Education and she owned the room. I’ve watched this young lady grow from a student with a good idea to a future business woman! For that reason alone this experience has been well worth the time and efforts! When she travels to New York next month, we have high expectations. If she doesn’t place, yes we will be disappointed but you can’t put a prize on the transformation! I’m proud of Danielle and have been privileged to work with her! Now…regardless of how proud I am of her, let’s go bring this top prize home!

Vernon Birmingham

P.S. Be sure to check out her on-line elevator pitch and vote! http://www.elevatorpitch2011.com/nominees/entry/danielle-s

Photo by: Premier Studios