Junior Achievement 18 Under 18 Awards - 2024

It is with great excitement that we welcome Junior Achievement (JA) of Central Maryland’s 2024 class of 18 Under 18 winners. Congratulations!

This partnership with Baltimore magazine, begun last year, has offered us an incredible opportunity to profile youth who are the best and brightest our area has to offer—the up-and-comers who show entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, community service, and an overall extraordinary skillset.

These 18 students are innovating and achieving at a level that belies their youth. They are using their talents to run their own businesses and to tackle some of the significant challenges we face as a society, like teen suicide, distracted driving, digital wellness, and food insecurity. They are school and community leaders, student athletes and artists. They are, in a word, remarkable.

It is impossible to read about the achievements of this year’s JA 18 Under 18 winners without a little awe. What’s even more amazing is that this is just a tiny glimpse at what our young people are capable of, especially with the support of mentors parents, teachers, pastors, and more—who believe in their talents and dreams.

At Junior Achievement, we get to see this potential in action every day. As one of the largest providers of youth services in the region, we will offer mentorship and support to some 40,000 students in 2024. Through our work and career readiness experiences, we bridge the gap between education and business, driving measurable community transformation that changes young people’s lives.

The JA 18 Under 18 program lets us celebrate, elevate, and empower these young leaders while we remember the many students still in need of programs and supports to help them flourish. As we build on the excitement that has grown up around JA 18 Under 18, we will continue to innovate new ways to expand the program and our outreach to ensure equitable access and opportunity for all.

We congratulate this year’s winners and applaud their hard work. We are so grateful to have them as part of our JA family.
Please read on to meet these promising leaders of tomorrow.

Paul Kappel Jr.
President and CEO, Junior Achievement of Central Maryland

Find out more at: centralmaryland.ja.org