As a participant in the Entrepreneuring Youth program, high school student Licercia Crawley already knows she has what it takes to be a successful business owner. Her company, Le De La Mosaic Limited allows Crawley to share her artistic mosaic creations with others while also earning a profit.

“I always liked to make mosaics. When I got into the class they showed me I could do something I love and make money from it,” Crawley said. “I made actually quite a lot from it.”

Crawley is one of many Pittsburgh students benefiting from E Youth, an educational and entrepreneurial experience program that recently received a portion of a $50,000 grant given to the Education Management Corp. by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. E Youth programs immerse young people in the real-life experience of business creation, ownership and earning money so they can acquire the knowledge, skills and entrepreneurial attributes that help them achieve in school and in life.

by Lisa-Anne Ray-Byers

Q. My son is in 12th grade and is planning for college.  He has been searching for scholarships and was advised by a friend to be careful of scam scholarships. How do you know if a scholarship is real?

A. Yes, there are scholarship scams and you can always follow the rule that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!  You should be suspicious of any program that requires the following:

FAMILY MATTER—Bill Murray with five-year-old daughter Cheyanne.

CHERRY HILL, N.J.—Africana Homestead Legacy Publishers Inc., released “Under African Skies,” its first children’s folklore picture book, under its imprint Nefu Books. A clever and colorful adaptation of two African folktales, this story will teach children ages 4-8 valuable lessons on kindness and friendship. Author Roland C. Barksdale-Hall of Sharon, Pa., is an experienced storyteller and well-known in genealogy, family history, library science and African-American culture circles. The book’s illustrator is Bill Murray, a nationally-syndicated cartoonist who also lives in Sharon, Pa. The two will collaborate on several more titles for their folklore series, “Stories by Brother Barksdale.” Future books will feature old and new characters.

by Derrick McCain

Filled with drama, plot twists and even musical numbers, “The Company You Keep” was a play produced by Soul’d Out productions during their Let’s Stop the Violence Week. The play keeps a strong Christian approach to handling such conflict while emphasizing a moral: beware of the company you keep.

WRONG PERSON KILLED—After the dust falls, the one who was suppose to be shot was not and an innocent person was killed as everyone sees that Hazel was killed instead of Tammy, her friend. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

“There has been many incidents in Pittsburgh where the youth were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Alichia Parker, executive producer. While the play preaches a positive message, the production failed to keep it as uplifting as it could have been, due to several factors.