Jason Dempsey
Author: Ashlyn Lower
Work Readiness
Published:
Saturday, 15 Apr 2023
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Inspiring a Thriving Career & JA Champion
Image caption: Jason in High School during the JA Entrepreneurial Academy
When Jason Dempsey was a junior at Avon High School, his accounting teacher was looking for students to recommend for JA’s Entrepreneurial Academy at Stanley Black & Decker. Jason was recommended to join because his teacher recognized his natural skills for business and his eagerness to learn.
Shortly after, Jason registered for the unique afterschool program that brings urban and suburban high school students together at a corporate site to gain skills in entrepreneurism, leadership, teamwork, ethics, and career development – as they work to build a real business together.
Jason joined an academy that was led by professionals from the Finance Leadership Program within Stanley Black & Decker. Jason and his peers were mentored and taught by these volunteers during the 15-week program, and the team successfully created and ran PowerUp – a portable phone charger company – which had the highest charted return on investment for any JA company at the time.
But JA’s impact on Jason did not stop with the successful company launch. Jason’s interaction with the volunteers from Stanley opened his eyes to a career in finance and inspired him to pursue a business degree from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. Graduating in 2020, Jason’s dream job was to work at Stanley Black & Decker.
Now, a handful of years later, Jason has translated his inspiration into action, accepting a job in Stanley Black & Decker’s prestigious Leadership Program. And, like the long-term data shows, Jason is a perfect example of the statistic that 51% of JA alumni will pursue the career or industry of their JA volunteer – he recently graduated from the SLP program into a full-time role as a Senior Financial Analyst in Corporate FP&A.
Image caption: Jason with two current JA students
Jason credits his early involvement with Junior Achievement with helping him discover his career path, giving him real-world business experience prior to pursing a degree, which helped him land relevant internships, and inspired him to give back to his community.
To this day, Jason has continued his relationship with JA and he is now the lead volunteer for the same Entrepreneurial Academy that had such a big impact on his life just a few years ago. He is now inspiring the next generation of future business leaders and finance professionals. Jason also spoke about JA’s impact on his life and career at our annual Partners in Achievement Breakfast in May 2023.
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