School & Family Magazine Newstand Northwest ISD Winter 2017-18 | Page 8

Not every student who enters the academy will pursue
running a company, but Mrs. Cuellar said the experience the
academy provides gives valuable lessons, regardless of the
career path of a student.
Feeling Color (continued)
Estie Cuellar, Jakayla’s academy advisor, said that when
parents of future academy students hear about businesses
being operated out of the high school, they often doubt they
are real companies. Once they see the process in action,
Mrs. Cuellar added, they understand the one-of-a-kind
experiences students earn by empowering themselves and
starting their own companies.
“ “Her story is what really
inspired this company. … I
really wanted her to have the
opportunity to go to the store
and lead her best lifestyle.”
– Jakayla Dixon, academy student
”
For Jakayla, an added benefit of the program has been
meeting mentors and people with career experience who can
provide advice for her goals. While she plans to continue
with Feel the Color as a business, her ultimate career goal is
to become a lawyer – and thanks to the company program,
she’s met with a patent attorney who has provided advice on
that goal.
“The patent lawyer has been very influential, because I get
to see a law firm and how that operates,” she explained. “The
first time I met him, I started picking his brain and asking
for advice. My goal is to go to college and study international
relations and minor in business, then earn my J.D. and focus
on international law. I think business and law go hand in
hand, so I know this has been a great experience for me.” n
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Feel the Color is perhaps the best example because of the
effort Jakayla has put into the business, Mrs. Cuellar said.
“She’s at the point where she’s scheduling all these meetings
on her own and reaching out to partners and clients that
she’s almost to where she doesn’t need me anymore,” she
said. “We do things differently here – our focus is to take
business education and make it experiential. We have so
many things that we teach in the academy, and then our
students take the extra step of treating what they learn here
as an extracurricular endeavor as well. They get to take what
they learn in the classroom and put it in practice.”
Mrs. Cuellar emphasized that students are making real
money, finding real investors, keeping up with a payroll and
understand the financial metrics necessary to run a business.
Every aspect of what they learn in class becomes a real-
world experience through the company program.
8
Picture Yourself Here
As an NISD Guest Educator
NISD is seeking motivated and willing
employees to work as Guest Educators when
the classroom teacher is not able to be in the
classroom. If you are interested in a rewarding
and flexible career, please visit
www.nisdtx.org/guesteducator.