ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD RECIPIENT - YEAR 2007
At the age of 12, Cheryl Persad wanted to become a teacher, but for many years she buried that desire deep within. After a 13 year career in banking in her native Trinidad & Tobago, she migrated to Canada.
In 2000, she started tutoring her nephews because their grades were below provincial standards. That same year she initiated a tutoring camp to prepare them for the new school year. By the end of the camp, seventeen children had registered and were prepared to face the challenges of their new grade. The experience re-lit a spark and following the camp, she began tutoring part-time.
In 2002, Cheryl registered Tutoring Dormant Geniuses as a sole proprietorship but lacked the skills to move forward to make it a successful business. The spark though lit, was very dim. Instead, Cheryl invested her time and skills in running an after school program for the Salvation Army. The program started with five children and grew to 30 at the time of her departure.
The challenges of that after school program motivated Cheryl to develop an educational system that would minimize the conflict between parents and their children over homework completion, identify behaviours and habits that were interfering with their ability to operate at grade level and equip parents to participate in their children’s education.
Realizing that she needed support to launch out on her own, she contacted MicroSkills and was accepted into their Women’s Self Employment Training Program. Now, there is no longer a spark but a full blown light! Tutoring Dormant Geniuses is open for business. The business specializes in helping children who have learning and behavioural challenges to improve their level of achievement.
