Over the last four months, the youth leadership group, Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership (SKIL) have been meeting regularly with TD Ameritrade representatives to not only learn what it takes to operate one of the country’s largest brokerage firms, but to learn valuable entrepreneurial skills from company leaders.

SKIL is a youth leadership program where students and adults can work together to make Southlake a better community by enhancing engagement with the City’s youth through educational and leadership opportunities. The program was created in 2015 through a partnership between the City, Carroll Independent School District and the Southlake Chamber of Commerce. In 2018, TD Ameritrade joined the program as a partner to introduce hands-on financial and entrepreneurial skills to the students.

“When I envisioned a youth leadership program, I knew we had to include the business community as a partner because they helped mold Southlake in to what it is today,” SKIL founder and Southlake Mayor Laura Hill said. “By having partners like TD Ameritrade involved, we enhance the experience for our students and also build a stronger sense of community.”

TD Ameritrade has spent the last several months mentoring and training the youth leadership group by assessing and identifying problems with services, forming an understanding of solution-based service and learning the operations of a top performing financial services business. As a part of this entrepreneurial experience, the students also get to learn from John Huffman, Southlake City Councilmember and local entrepreneur, and get a better understanding of what it means to be trained in a profession and what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

“Entrepreneurship is important because it can harness some skill sets that many students don’t even know they have and can help guide them as they select careers,” Southlake City Councilmember and local entrepreneur John Huffman said. “I’ve personally learned a lot through my own experiences as an entrepreneur and passing some words of wisdom onto these young leaders is so important in today’s competitive environment.”

For more information about SKIL, please visit the City’s website.