High School Scholar Jade Smith

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte high school senior who is an entrepreneur passionate about giving back is one of the Spectrum High School Scholars this year. 

Jade Smith, who is graduating from Charlotte Lab School, hopes to motivate children to follow their dreams. 

“My intention and overall goal is to speak to kids and get them interested in entrepreneurship,” Smith said. 

In February, she hosted an entrepreneurship class for children at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Charlotte to encourage them to turn their ideas into businesses. 

She started her first business at age 6, making items out of rubber bands. By age 10, she had published two books about her trips to South Africa and Australia. 

“My grandmother bought me a digital camera, and I was journaling,” Smith said. 

Now, she has a social media marketing company. 

“I wanted to highlight and amplify the work of Black women entrepreneurs because there are so many disparities and limited opportunities, systemic prejudice,” Smith said. 

She is committed to giving back to causes locally and abroad, including a fundraiser for cancer. 

“My trip to Belize this summer, just going with the Young Black Leadership Alliance and being able to build a house for a single mother, being able to give back shoes, that’s something that was really important to me in that just being in those spaces was really important,” Smith said. 

She said school was crucial in her journey. 

“It’s been such an incredible factor in my life, and I really value a lot of the relationships that I have with my teachers,” Smith said. 

As she’s getting closer to graduation, she wants to continue inspiring future generations. 

“It’s possible to live your dreams. If I can do it, you can do it too,” Smith said. 

State Rep. Carolyn Logan, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, visited Charlotte Lab School to recognize Smith for her outstanding work. 

Through the Spectrum High School Scholars Program, Smith will receive a $1,000 scholarship for the school of her choice. 

Logan congratulated Smith’s family for her accomplishments and said she envisioned her owning her own business in the future. 

“For this brief time that I’ve met her, it’s just been such an honor and a pleasure. And to know that we have young people like this today … to lead our country into a new era,” Logan said. 

Smith plans to attend UNC-Chapel Hill this fall with an assured admission to the business school, an opportunity granted to high-achieving prospective students.