One Million Students. One Powerful Story.

Seventy years ago, Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans began with 350 high school students launching businesses across New Orleans with the support of local companies and volunteers. Since then, generations of young people across Southeast Louisiana and South Mississippi have discovered new possibilities through JA programs in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness.

This spring, JA reached a historic milestone: one million students served.

The student representing that milestone is Mr. Tarrel Brooks, an 11th grader at Frederick A. Douglass High School and a finalist in JA’s 2026 Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge.

Meet JA’s 1 Millionth Student, Tarrel Brooks, 11th grader at Fredrick A. Douglass Senior High School and Trust Your Crazy Ideas Finalist

Tarrel represents far more than a number.

He represents the power of what can happen when young people are surrounded by encouragement, opportunity, and adults who believe in them.

Thoughtful, driven, and deeply committed to helping others, Tarrel stood out to JA staff and educators because of the way he approaches leadership. His entrepreneurial idea focused on helping his peers build confidence and believe in their own potential. At just seventeen years old, he carries himself with a sense of purpose that inspires the people around him.

“The honor is immense,” Tarrel shared. “It’s amazing to have this recognition, but it also helps me to push others to reach their goals and do things to achieve.”

“As a principal, you always hope your students will be brave enough to take chances, and this young scholar embodies that spirit every day,” shared Towana Pierre-Floyd of Frederick Douglass High School. “From traveling internationally with Live Oak to stepping forward in our Trust Your Crazy Ideas challenges, Tarrel has shown what it looks like to lead with curiosity, courage, and heart. He doesn’t just succeed individually. He makes Douglass a stronger, more thoughtful place for everyone around him.”

Tarrel’s story is also deeply personal for his family.

His father has reflected openly on how different life might have looked if opportunities like JA had existed for him when he was growing up. Facing difficult circumstances at a young age, he often wonders how mentorship, career exposure, and guidance could have changed the direction of his own life. Today, he watches his son walk a different path, one filled with possibility, support, and hope for the future.

What moves him most is that Tarrel carries his name.

Where his own story included hardship, he sees his son carrying that name forward with integrity, purpose, and leadership. Watching Tarrel grow into the young man he is becoming has given him a renewed sense of pride and peace.

For Larry Washington, President & CEO of Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans, Tarrel’s story reflects exactly why JA’s mission matters.

“Reaching one million students is an extraordinary milestone, but what matters most is the individual young people behind that number,” said Larry Washington. “Tarrel represents the talent, resilience, creativity, and potential that already exists in our community. When young people are connected to mentorship, real-world experiences, and opportunities to dream bigger for themselves, it can change the trajectory of a life.”

Today, JA serves students across 13 parishes in Southeast Louisiana and 29 counties in South Mississippi, connecting young people to career pathways, financial literacy, entrepreneurship education, and real-world experiences that help them prepare for the future.

But for JA, reaching one million students is not the finish line.

It is the beginning of the next chapter.

As the organization looks ahead, JA is focused not only on reaching more students, but on deepening the impact of every experience through programs that connect education, mentorship, and workforce opportunity in more meaningful ways.

Tarrel Brooks represents what is possible when a community invests in its young people.

And somewhere in the next million students served, there are thousands more stories waiting to unfold.