Student Entrepreneur of the Year

The Student Entrepreneur is chosen for showing:
- an entrepreneurial spirit
- outstanding achievement in business classes
- creativity when approaching a business project
- honesty and ethical standards
- B average for all four quarters in their business class
- Business Attitude & Effort
- Performance on Business Plan

2019 - Saarah and Maryam Kabal

2018 - Amaya Harris

Amaya Harris possesses many “soft skills” that are essential to success in the workplace and for a successful transition to college. Some of the “21st century skills” that Amaya possess that allows her to be successful and will serve her well in her future endeavors are: organizational skills, creativity, leadership, honesty and hard work. Amaya has left a lasting impression on her teachers and classmates because of her diligence and work ethic and the quality of all the assignments she turned in.

Amaya’s quiet and humble personality has been showcased on several occasions as she interacts with her classmates, explaining to them assignments they have difficulty understanding. She never helps students with an air of braggadocio, but instead seeks to understand what specific concept is challenging and give encouragement and advice on strategies she has used that is successful and can be emulated by others. This academic year, Amaya presented her business plan at a competition with other students in Hartford County and her poise and confidence of delivery allowed her team to place second.

Amaya is well respected by both staff and students. Obtaining the Rotary Club of Windsor Charitable Trust scholarship will enable her to obtain her dream of majoring in Business administration at the college of her choice. She received the distinction of being March 2018 Rotary Student of the Month.

This exceptional young lady who goes about her daily life as a student without much fanfare but represents Windsor High School, her family and community with distinction. She will be attending Bay Path College majoring in Business Administration.

2017 - Madeira Alexander

It is with great pride and honor that Windsor High School business department selects Madeira Alexander as the 2017 Entrepreneurship Student of the Year. Madeira has taken many of the elective business courses offered at Windsor High School and maintained an A average throughout. Some of the business courses Madeira excelled at are: Personal Finance, Business Management, Marketing, Computer Applications and Entrepreneurship.

During her tenure at Windsor High School, Madeira has demonstrated the ability to be articulate about concepts that are esoteric and somewhat difficult for many students especially those who have not gained work experience. She has the keen ability to make connections between various disciplines to write in-depth analyses of complex financial and social problems.

Madeira has my utmost respect as she has remained humble and patient when being helpful to other classmates who have difficulty understanding concepts. Madeira is always the student who will gently and quietly nudge her classmates to remain focused to complete assignments by their due dates. Although Madeira is active in sports, volunteers with special needs students, her church, and the Girl Scouts, she has always turned in high quality work on time.

Throughout the years Madeira was an active participant in our class discussions and inquiry circle discourse, and she always supportive of her peers. Her caring nature and personality allows her to work well with others in a team setting, as she always respects others' opinions even when they differ from her own.

Madeira will be attending Salisbury University in the fall and I am certain that Madeira’s work ethic, her curiosity and empathy for others, will be an asset at Salisbury University.

Congratulations! Madeira on such an outstanding achievement.

2016 - Saedi Mclaughlin

Saedi Mclaughlin has an impressive character and work ethic. She has infectious laughter, encouraging words for her classmates and her overall manner made a lasting impression on her business teacher and FBLA Advisor, Hyacinth Dafoe. During her tenure as a student at Windsor High School, she took Entrepreneurship where she gained a clear understanding of abstract economic theories. The level of confidence and diligence that she exhibited were extraordinary. Her presentations in both classes were always well prepared and well researched. Her meticulous manner and efficiencies in problem solving and analyzing data were outstanding. Saedi is a well-rounded young woman, not only excelling in her academic life but enjoying other activities like cheerleading and working on weekends and holidays. Saedi has the ability to manage her time wisely, seamlessly work cooperatively with her peers as well as independently, and she remained focused on her tasks until they were completed to the highest quality. While most of her peers would only replicate what was listed on the rubric, Saedi usually approached solutions in innovative ways and went above and beyond what was expected.

2015 - Junae Manderson

Junae is an outstanding student, who ranks in the top 15% of the graduating class. Junae has chosen to pursue a Business Management degree at Sienna University in the fall. Junae’s academic integrity, dedication to her studies and her sense of humor stood out as particular traits that will serve her well in the future and in her academic life. Junae consistently demonstrates a level of concern and perseverance not seen by many students in her age group.

In addition to a full academic course load, Junae works as a student teller at the school branch of the Windsor Federal Savings Bank. Her supervisor at the bank was so impressed by her performance that they are considering hiring her when she is on break from college. Junae has tremendous organizational skills which was evidenced when FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and FCCLA (Family Community Career Leaders of America) had joint community service projects with Windsor Food and Fuel Bank and Feeding Children Everywhere. During these community service projects, Junae managed and delegated assignments with ease and kept team spirits high.

Junae is well respected by both faculty and her peers. I am confident that Junae Manderson will represent Windsor Community with distinction in all of her future endeavors.

2014 - Amber Johnson

Amber Johnson is a self-motivated young lady who is very interested in entrepreneurship and expressing her creativity. During her time at Windsor High School she has participated in several entrepreneurial related activities. One of which was The Junior Achievement Symposium where her group came up with an idea for a business, created an entire business plan, and after two rounds of presentations won first place out of all of the groups. She also takes Fashion Merchandising which has helped her learn more about creating a business, marketing, and has given her experience through the small business she set up with her classmates. Next year, she’s going to college for film; since 8th grade she has been very involved with creating videos for a variety of purposes. She took two years of TV Productions and made a video for the business symposium, for several school projects, for her TV class, and many for her YouTube channel. She wants to be a freelance video producer after college, or form her own production company. Fun fact: she is actually a professional YouTuber with two partnered YouTube channels. One of her channels is about fashion and beauty related topics that goes along with her blog on the same topic. Her other channel is less specific, where she posts vlogs talking about various topics. Together on these two channels, she has over nine thousand followers and is continuously growing. When her subscriber base gets big enough, she would love to become a full-time professional YouTuber and get to make her videos as a job according to her own schedule. Overall, Amber is continuously inspired and intrigued by the idea of entrepreneurship and cannot wait to see what her future holds.

2013 - Ashley Walsh

Ashley is a talented and motivated student who not only maintains high academic standing but also spreads her enthusiasm to other students by impromptu tutoring in class. She excelled in her marketing class by displaying an exceptional grasp of the process of satisfying customer's needs while making a profit, which is the ultimate goal of a business. During our project discussions Ashley always gives creative and well thought out suggestions.

Ashley was a valued member of DECA worked hard to make that organization successful. Ashley has also worked in the school store throughout the years. She did all this while also working to become an outstanding Track and Field Athlete. In addition to DECA, Ashley was a member of the Honor Roll every marking period during her four years at Windsor High School.

Ashley is also an active volunteer. During the summer she works as a Camp Counselor for the Windsor Recreation Department.

2012 - Vanessa Harris

Vanessa is a talented and motivated student who not only maintains high academic standing but also spreads her enthusiasm to other students by impromptu tutoring in class. She excelled in her marketing class by displaying an exceptional grasp of the process of satisfying a customers needs while making a profit., which is the ultimate goal of a business. During our project discussions Vanessa always gives creative and well thought out suggestions.

Vanessa is a valued member of DECA and FBLA has worked hard to make both organizations successful. Vanessa has also worked in the school store throughout the year. She did all this while also working to become and All State Track and Field Athlete. In addition to DECA Vanessa is a member of the National Honor Society and a volunteer in the Guidance Counselor's Office. Vanessa works as a camp counselor during the summer.

2011 - Jonathan Hurd

Jonathan is a talented and motivated student who not only maintains high academic standing but also spreads his enthusiasm to other students by impromptu tutoring in class. He excelled in his marketing class by displaying an exceptional understanding of the process of satisfying a customer's needs while making a profit, which is the ultimate goal of a business. During our project discussions Jonathan always gives creative and well thought out suggestions.

Jonathan is a valued member of DECA and has worked hard to make it successful. He did all this while working twenty hours per week and being a member of the swim team and the tennis team. In addition to DECA Jonathan is a member of BRIDGES, Student Council, Senior Class Advisor, Camp Anytown, FCCLA, Honor Roll and is a CAPT Scholar.

Jonathan is also an active volunteer. His work includes: Windsor Elks Lodge Children's Christmas Dinner and St. Gabriel's Youth Group.

2010 - Alexis Lewis

Alexis was born and raised in Windsor, and is a Senior at Windsor High School. Her entrepreneurial zest began at an early age coordinating family tag sales. From there she took her skills to the next level being the top Girl Scout Cookie salesperson, raising funds for her Juvenile Diabetes walk team, and helping her Dad in his store. Alexis has completed the Marketing 1&2 programs at Windsor High and is currently completing independent Marketing coursework, which includes mentoring a Marketing 1 class. Alexis will be attending college in the fall of 2010 majoring in Marketing and Communications.

2009 - Patrick Lafortune

Patrick is a very talented and motivated student. He has maintained high grades in marketing class and has been a key member of the school store staff. Patrick has been the driving force behind the development and opening of the school store. His enthusiasm has motivated other student to except him as a leader.

Patrick is new to Windsor High School coming from New York. However, he has established himself as a serious student with a personality that draws people to him. During the development of the school store, Patrick was instrumental in conducting a lot of the marketing research as well as getting the messages out to students and staff. Patrick helped to brainstorm on the addition of new product and determining appropriate prices.

Patrick Lafortune is a true entrepreneur with a hunger for the details of business ownership. His foresight and business sense is unmatched by his peer. Patrick is also the student liaison to the Principal and the staff when there is a need to test a product or place a large order.