Get Paid for Grades is pleased to announce that our innovative program was recently featured in a prominent local newspaper, Tampa Bay Business Journal.
In an interview with our organization’s founder, Monica Eaton-Cardone explained why she feels so strongly about Get Paid for Grades’ mission and philosophy.
Education & Confidence are the Keys to Success
As Eaton-Cardone explained in the feature article and the accompanying video, education is vital to achieve one’s goals in life. However, an education is only valuable if students also possess other essential skills and qualities.
Eaton-Cardone observed a recurring problem when hiring local high schoolers at her company, Chargebacks911:
“The one thing we noticed is that there wasn’t a lack of education among the students—there was actually a lack of confidence. That confidence is the biggest barrier to success, because when you believe that you can’t do something, you don’t even try.
“Many of them would come to work, and they had the aptitude… But even though they had the skillset, they didn’t have confidence in that work environment.
Monica realized that this wasn’t a problem exclusive to one group of kids or one high school in Clearwater—it was a pervasive problem which called for a larger solution:
“…It’s not that we don’t have the right kids, but that they don’t think this is a good fit. We could see that the confidence was something that was becoming a significant barrier in their lives.”
GPFG Seeks Solutions to the Problem
Rather than turn her back on the problem, Monica Eaton-Cardone decided to set about finding a way to change it by introducing Get Paid for Grades in 2013.
On the surface, the program serves primarily to give underperforming students an incentive to boost their GPA and test scores.
Beyond that, though, Get Paid for Grades’ emphasis on self-directed challenges in pursuit a goal helps to reinforce that ongoing commitment to helping students develop the confidence they will need for future success. As students move through the program, they learn they are capable of achieving more than they believed possible.
About Tampa Bay Business Journal
Monica Eaton-Cardone was interviewed as part of the Executive Files article series. This ongoing column, published by Tampa Bay Business Journal, recognizes the area’s most successful entrepreneurs and philanthropists.
Since 1981, Tampa Bay Business Journal has served as the voice and primary news source of west central Florida’s business community. The TBBJ is the most widely-circulated weekly commerce publication in the Tampa Bay region—which is one of the largest media markets in the southeastern US.
The paper continues to run print editions each week in addition to digital publications.
TBBJ subscribers can check here, or a full version of the article and video can be found here.