Daymond John, born in New York and raised in Hollis, known as the People’s Shark on CNBC’s The Shark Tank and the founder of Fubu Inc., visited Thomas A. Edison C.T.E. High School on October 25, 2018. Daymond John toured the school and learned of the many programs at Edison, in partnership with NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship), Mr. John was able to surprise Edison’s Entrepreneurship 1 program, which is being piloted at Edison under the supervision of New York Department of Education.

In partnership with NFTE, Daymond John inspired the lives of Edison students and surprised the entrepreneurship class with a personally autographed copy of his book of the The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage.  Mr. John also  gifted the school ten new Macbook Pros and every Edison S1 student now has a subscription to “Daymond on Demand,” a virtual, online learning software with tips, resources and advice  on becoming an entrepreneur, all from Daymond’s experiences.

Edison’s very own Sandra Cruz was able to meet with Daymond John and speak about the entrepreneurship program. “Part of what we try to teach the students is validated learning. In validated learning, market research is conducted to prove your assumptions about a potential business idea correct or incorrect. So, what I learned from the process of validated learning from Daymond John, is that what the students are learning at Edison through the E1 curriculum with NFTE is what they need to know to be a success or the foundation of an entrepreneur that, along with Daymond John’s valuable resource of “Daymond on Demand,” would prepare the students with the knowledge of moving forward in the world of entrepreneurship.”

Ms Dilangani Dilrukshi, also involved in the implementation of the E1 pilot program, said, “Daymond John’s visit to Edison is a huge success because our students were able to obtain valuable advice from a business expert. This is an inspiration to other schools looking to implement the E1 curriculum next year.”

“Daymond John’s visit to Edison was very impactful. Even a month later, students are still buzzing about his visit and are proudly showing the images they took with Daymond to their friends. We are so honored that Daymond John chose our school for his visit and thankful for all his generous donations,“ said Dilrukshi.

Samira Chowdhury a participant in the E1 program, said she is still moved by Daymond John and his appearance. “Meeting Daymond John was an exciting experience because he is known to be a multi-millionaire and even very influential person in today’s world, and it was honor to get tips and experiences from him,” said Chowdhury.