If you don’t respect Kevin Liles, you probably don’t know his story. As a student in my senior year at North Carolina Central University, I had the opportunity to meet Kevin Liles and receive an autographed copy of his book “Make It Happen.” I think it took me all of two days to read it and I still find inspriation in his story of dedication and perseverance, continuing on even when people told him no, from an intern to the board room was his journey, working with artists that include Young Jeezy and Trey Songz to name a few, Kevin knows the music business and he knows giving back! This summer the Make It Happen Summer Business Academies, kicked off its 2012 Summer Youth Business and Entrepreneurship Academy at my Alma mater North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. The Make It Happen Foundation was started by Liles and his wife, Erika, to foster an environment for young people to realize their full potential.
Says Kevin Liles, “It is our responsibility to provide a platform for the next generation of leaders. At the MIHF Summer Business Academy, we plan to provide young passionate teens with the tools necessary to be entrepreneurs, innovators and future CEOs of corporations. In my continued efforts to make a difference, over the next two weeks participants will not only get educated, they will also get real time experience.”
The Academy was held for 20, high achieving rising 10th and 11th grade students, with a B average or higher, from Durham, N.C., and surrounding counties. Students received business training and exposure to higher education on the campus of NCCU, free of cost. The program, which provides deserving economically disadvantaged youth with business training and exposure to higher education is one that is nothing short of phenomenal.
“Inspired by LEAD” is a marketing initiative created by the LEAD Program, which is a national non-profit organization that focuses on bringing, “knowledge, interest and confidence to America’s brightest high school students to explore careers in business, science, engineering and technology.” The experience includes field trips to local businesses where students can see their coursework in an applied setting and where they can network and meet business leaders. The capstone of the course involves team-based business plan projects where the winning groups will earn the opportunity to work as Production Assistants at a local Baltimore concert, back-stage passes and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the artists. Working behind-the-scenes will allow the youth to see the business and operations aspects from the inside.
The program is slated to expand worldwide in the near future; Liles, who founded the Make It Happen Foundation, grew up in Baltimore and worked his way from unpaid intern to President and CEO of the Def Jam Music Group. He established the Make It Happen Foundation to foster an environment for young people to realize their full potential. In pursuit of this mission, the Liles’ have leveraged Kevin’s standing as an American music industry pioneer to create the Summer Business Academies together with LEAD in numerous US cities, focused on serving economically disadvantaged youth.
ABOUT THE MAKE IT HAPPEN FOUNDATION
The Make It Happen Foundation, founded by Kevin Liles, Founder and CEO of KWL Enterprises, and his wife, Erika, provides opportunities and access for young people to become products of their experiences and not merely products of their environment. Through internship partners and mentor programs, the foundation provides life-changing opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth.
