At just 16 years old, Samyyah has already accomplished things many adults are still working toward.

📚 Published approximately five books
🎨 Illustrated at least 10 books
💰 Generated thousands of dollars through entrepreneurship
🎓 Began taking college-level courses while still in high school
🏆 Named KEA's 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year
📈 Maintains a 4.0 GPA

But the numbers are only part of her story.

In this conversation, Samaya explains—in her own words—how KEA gave her the freedom, education, financial knowledge, entrepreneurial experience, and time to discover what she actually wants from life.

At KEA, entrepreneurship isn't an elective students simply study—it's something they experience.

From developing products and setting prices to marketing, serving customers and collecting real revenue, KEA students learn how ideas become businesses.

Our students aren't waiting until adulthood to discover entrepreneurship.

They're building now. 💰🚀

At KEA, communication is a skill students learn by doing. Through podcasting and media experiences, students develop confidence, public speaking skills, interviewing techniques, critical thinking and the ability to communicate their ideas to an audience.

Sometimes the best way to teach a child to find their voice is simply to give them a microphone. 🎙️

Every KEA student becomes a published author.

Students don't simply complete writing assignments—they develop ideas, write manuscripts, participate in the publishing process and ultimately hold a professionally published book bearing their name.

For many students, the moment they hold their first book changes how they see themselves.

They didn't just write something. They became an author. 📖✨

In 2021, KEA students traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a three-day educational experience commemorating the 100th anniversary of the destruction of Black Wall Street and the historic Greenwood District.

Students didn't just read about Greenwood in a textbook—they stood where history happened.

During the trip, KEA students explored historic Greenwood, visited cultural and art exhibits, experienced the centennial activities taking place throughout Tulsa, interacted with community organizations and activists, and gained a firsthand connection to one of the most important stories of Black entrepreneurship, resilience, tragedy, and rebuilding in American history.

📍 Greenwood District — Tulsa, Oklahoma
🎨 Art, History & Culture
✊🏾 Community Engagement
💼 Black Entrepreneurship & Economic History
📚 Learning Beyond the Classroom

KEA students traveled to Orland Park, Illinois, for a field experience at Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat, where they had the opportunity to meet and interview founder Laricia “Chef Fab” Chandler Baker.

Students learned firsthand about entrepreneurship, building a brand, creating a unique product, operating a restaurant, and turning an idea into a growing business.