HARTFORD, Conn. — Junior Achievement of Southwest New England equips K-12 students with hands-on learning experiences that create opportunities for their future.

CEO and president Jeremy Race said they served more than 40,000 students last year.

“The power of JA is we bring business and community volunteers into the classroom and bring our students into the real world," Race said.

They have many programs like the JA entrepreneurial program. Pearlha Truong took part in that program for 16 weeks after school during her sophomore and junior year.

“We created our own business program and we had our own business idea. We created a name, we sold products and we liquidated our company,” Truong said.

She learned in the program how hard people have to work to make their business succeed.

“I

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