BENTONVILLE -- A teen entrepreneur is donating some of her money to help send a child to camp this summer.
Kealie McClain, 15, started making soap and bath products about two years ago. That led her to create her business, KeKe Soaps.
Kid’s College
Northwest Arkansas Community College’s Kid’s College runs Monday through July 28. Costs per session range from $150 to $400. Visit NWACC.edu to register or for more information. Here’s a list of classes being offered:
• Entrepreneurial Engineering Design
• Robotics I
• Robotics II
• 3D Modeling
• 3D Printing Design
• Geographic Information Systems
• Learn to Code … Code to Learn I
• Learn to Code … Code to Learn II
• Web Mapping
• Digital Geography
• Fantastic Worlds
• Character Design
• Draw Comics and Manga
• Film History I
• Film History II
• World of Radio
• American Presidential Elections
• Cooking & Baking I
• Cooking & Baking II
• Medical Boot Camp
Source: Staff report
When she heard about Northwest Arkansas Community College's Kid's College, which starts Monday, she thought it would be nice to provide a scholarship to help a child attend.
She and her mother arranged the scholarship with the college's foundation. The scholarship will pay half of the $300 fee for one student taking the character design class, where students get to create their own cartoon and comic characters, according to the college's website.
Kealie loves art. Her sixth-grade art teacher at Old High Middle School inspired her and encouraged her in that area, she said.
"I thought it would be a good idea to give a student that jumpstart if they didn't already have it, like my art teacher did," she said.
Kid's College is back at the college after several years away, according to Steven Hinds, executive director of public relations and marketing. It's primarily for children ages 9 to 13, though there's also a "medical boot camp" for those 13 to 16.
There are a combined 40 sections of 20 courses offered over the next seven weeks. Each class session lasts four days. About 300 people registered for Kid's College classes as of Thursday, Hinds said.
"We're thrilled with the interest," he said.
Classes will be in three buildings on the college's campus, 1 College Drive in Bentonville, as well as the Center for Nonprofits, 1200 W. Walnut St. in Rogers.
The scholarship Kealie sponsored is one of 14 the college's foundation is providing to campers this summer, according to Hinds.
The foundation chooses which students receive the scholarships. Kealie doesn't know who was selected to receive her scholarship, she said.
Kealie already had a philanthropic side. A portion of each purchase of her soaps goes to PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center.
Kealie describes on her website, KeKeSoaps.com, the bullying she endured when she was in elementary school.
"It started on the playground during recess, and spread quickly to anytime a teacher wasn't looking," she wrote on the website. "Bullying followed me from school to the school bus where I was tormented by the older high school kids."
Kealie has attended the Arkansas Virtual Academy, an online school, for three years, but said she will enroll at Bentonville High School as a sophomore this fall.
Meanwhile, Kealie is looking at growing her business with a new line of bath products for teens, including soaps, body sprays, bath salts and more. She does most of her business through her website, but hopes to open her own store within a few years.
Kealie's interest in making soap started a few years ago when she stumbled upon some YouTube videos on the subject, she said. It's been a learning experience since.
"She's learned the difficulties of running a business," said Dannie McClain, her mother.
After high school, Kealie plans to attend college and focus on art.
NW News on 06/04/2016