The NFTE New England Semifinals have wrapped up outside Boston! Our Digital Correspondent Cash Payne was at Babson College for the event where 3 challengers were left standing.

The 3 finalists move onto Regional Finals which will take place tomorrow, June 11th in downtown Boston. It’s the only obstacle between them and Nationals scheduled for this fall.

IT’S THE SUMMER AND SCHOOL IS OUT FOR MOST PEOPLE BUT SOME STUDENTS ARE GOING BEYOND THE TEXTBOOK TO BUILD THEIR OWN BUSINESS

Dulce Cisneros: "I’m not just sitting in a classroom and doing whatever is assigned to me. This is me getting my ideas out and announcing my voice to the world… and I think that will benefit me as a person, as a student, and so on."

NFTE, THE NETWORK FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP, PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO PITCH THEIR BUSINESS IDEAS FOR A CHANCE AT SEED MONEY AND A SPOT IN THE NATIONAL YOUTH ENTREPRENEURIAL CHALLENGE.

Fred Pimentel: "I’ve had students where school wasn’t something that they were involved with. They thought it was routine and monotonous and when they get into the entrepreneurial class and they get hands on and skills that they know that they need to use, they kind of blossom."

FRED PIMENTEL, WHO HAS BEEN TEACHING NFTE FOR 16 YEARS, SAYS IT ACTIVATES THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET AND OPENS UP DOORS THAT STUDENTS DON’T KNOW EXIST

Fred Pimentel: "They didn’t have ideas of going to college, now they want to go to college. They want more. They want to develop a business for themselves and do something with their lives."

AND IT GIVES STUDENTS THE CONFIDENCE TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES SAYS ANNE NGUYEN, A NFTE TEACHER SINCE 2004

Anne Nguyen: "It’s empowering for them I think, as nervous as they are, I’ve done this quite a few times, and by the end of the day, they know the power they have."

Shane McConnell: "Entrepreneurship changes your mindset, it really does. The way you look at things, the way you look at opportunities change. When I look back, I see a bunch of opportunities I could have taken, I’m like ‘Oh darn’, but now going forward I can see a potential opportunity, like my business, and I can be like ‘Hey, I can snag onto that’.

AND IT’S NOT JUST THE POWER THEY HAVE BUT ALSO THE PASSION

Shane McConnell: "The more passionate you are about it, the more you are willing to see through to its completion."

IT’S ALL TOO SURREAL SAYS STUDENT 2, WHO IS ONE OF 3 STUDENTS MOVING ON TO PITCH THEIR BUSINESS IDEAS IN THE REGIONAL FINALS ON JUNE 11TH

Shane McConnell: "From an idea to an image, an image to a blueprint, a blueprint to materials, and a material to a final product, that has been my dream as a kid, and now I’m doing it for real."

A REALITY THAT IS FOREIGN TO MOST STUDENTS THIS SUMMER BUT A REALITY THAT THESE THREE FINALISTS HOPE TO TAKE TO THE NATIONAL STAGE IN NEW YORK CITY THIS FALL

FOR REAL NEWS… I’M CASH PAYNE

#NFTE #NFTEChallenge #RoadtoNationals #entrepreneur #business