Student Spotlight: 'Young Entrepreneur Of The Year' Shayna Turk

For Shayna Turk, drama is everything.

The recent graduate of New Community Jewish High School was named 2010 "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" by the National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation and Visa Inc. at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday for her work in helping to inspire the next generation of stage actors.

"It is such a great feeling," she said, following the event. "One out of 4,300 [nationwide candidates] is great."

Turk, who has been acting since she was 5 years old, is the teenage director and founder of Shayna Turk's Academy of Rising Stars, a musical theater camp which she started at age 11. The camp gives children, regardless of talent level, a chance to experience the thrill and excitement of stage performing. 

Turk's inspiration for the camp, she said, came from watching her older sister get turned down for starring roles in local performances because of her age.

"I had an idea to get her and a couple of her friends together to perform a play," she said. "It was such a success, that it expanded, and I decided to keep it going."

Starting with just eight kids, Turk's Academy now has over 30 campers annually. The performances take place at her grandparents' pavilion in Hidden Hills. To date, Turk has produced nine different musicals over a six-year period. 

All proceeds from her camp's performances are donated to Music for Heart, a charity founded by the parents of one of her campers born with a congenital heart disease. The camp has raised $10,000 for Music for Heart, which in turn has helped save the lives of six children, Turk said. 

"Shayna's dedication to her theater camp and helping others is remarkable," announced Terry LaPier, chair of NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Board of Directors. 

The NFIB/Visa Inc. "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" award is given annually to the top applicant in the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards program.

"Our goal is that these scholarships will help young people gain the confidence required to run their own enterprises that create jobs and give back to our communities," said LaPier.

To earn a scholarship, students were asked to demonstrate their entrepreneurial achievement by answering a short, personal questionnaire defining their efforts. Standardized test scores, GPA and class rank were also taken into consideration. 

Turk, who allegedly stumbled across the application online with her mother, was awarded a $10,000 educational scholarship to help defray the cost of tuition at the University of Southern California—where Turk will be attending next fall.

"I am honestly not sure at all," Turk said of her chosen area of studies. She is currently undeclared. "Theatre, business, medicine—who knows."

She may be off to USC in the fall, but for now, camp is everything for Turk.

"I missed two days of camp to get this," she said, waiting for her airplane to take off in D.C. "I am coming home as fast as I can."