Posted on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 Economic education By SARA KENNEDY skennedy@bradenton.com As part of his summer job, Colton DeCou is testing a few economic principles he learned during a high school Junior Achievement program. The 18-year-old is managing tomato fields for his dad's firm in rural Virginia and he's applying some of what he learned during his senior year at Lakewood Ranch High School through a local chapter of Junior Achievement. The organization is the world's largest nonprofit dedicated to business education. "As far as my other classes and studying, I wasn't doing too well but the (economics) class was something I liked and when the Junior Achievement program came along, it was a learning experience and fun, too," recalled DeCou. Next month, he will start at Piedmont, a Georgia business college, and hopes one day to own his own business. DeCou is following in the path of many other teens nationally who want to become entrepreneurs. A recent survey of high school students from 120 Junior Achievement locations across the country shows that 70.9 percent would like to one day be self-employed. Of that number, 32.4 percent wanted to start a "professional services" business such as an accounting, legal or insurance firm, while 26.3 percent wanted to go into retail. Interest among teens to become entrepreneurs seems to be taking off because of television shows like "The Apprentice" and those in the media spotlight who have branched out into dozens of businesses, said Stephanie Bell, public relations manager for Junior Achievement Worldwide, of Colorado Springs, Colo. "Kids are seeing their role models in the media being entrepreneurs and they want to emulate that," she said. Kathryn Laurie, 18, is one of those who is hoping to one day become her own boss. She served as the "president" of a pretend company at Lakewood Ranch High School last year that sold an imaginary product. Her efforts generated a fictional $112,000. This summer, she is applying some of what she learned about finances and has saved $2,000 for Manatee Community College, where she will study in the fall. She learned to "be smart about your money," she said. A career in politics or owning a bridal shop are possible future goals, Laurie said. In Manatee and Sarasota counties, Junior Achievement offers programs from kindergarten through high school in an effort to encourage financial literacy, said Diane Weisberger, JA program manager. The program relies on volunteer help. In 2006-07, about 60 Manatee volunteers served 2,105 youth. In Sarasota, about 80 volunteers served 2,716, said Barbara Page, the program's executive director. LaTanya Edwards is the comptroller for Arrow Environmental Services Inc. and a JA volunteer. Last week she spoke to six teens at Girls Inc. of Sarasota County. "One wanted to be a forensic scientist, she was 13 years old. She loves (the television show) "CSI." One young lady wanted to be a fashion designer. "I asked them, 'What do you have to do to get there?' At some point, we need to get them thinking about what they need to do." - Junior Achievement has 245,000 classroom volunteers worldwide from all walks of life, including businesspeople, college students, parents and retirees. To volunteer, go to for Manatee County, www.jasarasota.org for Sarasota County or call (941) 388-0990.