Accolades for the A-List

In her four-year collegiate career, Asha Sharma, ’11 BSB, had completed seven internships, as well as being an active participant in the Carlson Consulting Enterprise, not to mention traveling to Poland and Hungary to work on a live case for Cargill. Matt Norris, ’11 BSB, interned for Sen. Amy Klobuchar and later received the school’s Academic Excellence Award given to the highest academically ranked undergraduate senior.

Individually, both graduates exemplify excellence and the drive to succeed, so there is no question about what they could achieve by working together. Earlier this year, the two founded The A-List, an innovative, nonprofit teen center with a mission of entrepreneurship, education, and personal growth. The center, located in Brooklyn Park, Minn., fills the local teens’ longstanding desire for a safe environment for social engagement and employment.

“The A-List is a social entrepreneurship venture in which teens produce 30 percent of the revenue to support the organization,” says Sharma. “It’s a unique business model where we provide employment in our snack and apparel business units, and offer education and personal growth opportunities such as daily tutoring sessions, insights on post-secondary education, interaction with business mentors, and fun events like dances and hip hop classes.”

The A-List recently reached the half-million dollar mark in cash and in-kind funding, and several municipalities have approached Sharma and Norris inquiring about the opportunity for replication. Norris, a Brooklyn Park native, received a Good Citizenship Award from the mayor for his youth work.
“Matt and I have a shared vision to see The A-List in every community of need,” says Sharma.
At graduation, Norris and Sharma were honored by the Carlson School’s Department of Marketing and Logistics Management. Norris received the General Mills Award for Scholarship in Marketing and Sharma was presented with the 3M Award for Scholarship, Leadership, and Service.