Lamont McKellar ’00 didn’t graduate from Lincoln with a business or education degree. He was active in the Lincoln Advanced Science and Engineering Reinforcement program—commonly referred to as the LASER program—and majored in chemistry.
While he worked for several years following graduation as an analytical chemist, today he is a salesman-turned entrepreneur. McKellar is the owner of the Young Carver STEM Academy a hands-on science enrichment startup for children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade that makes learning science fun. He coined the name for his company from the scientist and childhood idol, George Washington Carver.
“It was so eye-opening to learn of a scientist of color,” McKellar says fondly about Carver. “It helped me to believe being a scientist was possible for me.”
Today, McKellar works to provide that same inspiration to children at his STEM Academy.
“I started [my first business] by literally selling chemistry sets on the streets of Philadelphia,” said McKellar, who had to rethink his business model.
At the suggestion of a childhood friend and community activist, Kunta Littlejohn, McKellar took his science kits into summer camps and gave demonstrations with the kids for free. It was a success, the children and the staff loved it. The following summer, equipped with a mere $20 in supplies, McKellar took his program into child care centers and packaged Young Carver as an add-on activity to an existing summer program. It was another success.
“Initially I was making calls trying to book a one-time workshop, then one day a center’s director asked could we come out each week all summer. I said ‘absolutely!’ although I didn’t have curriculum at the time.”
That weekend with no computer (it was on the blink), he typed the entire program on his phone. In a few days the check was in the mail, and the summer program was another success. In that summer of 2015, Young Carver worked with 10 centers. The following summer, Young Carver expanded to 30 child care centers with four employees.
In addition, he expanded the program by adding live reptiles to the curriculum. Littlejohn now consultants for Young Carver and there is a Board of Advisors made up of former LASER students, Anwar Bowman ’00; Adrienne Stephenson ’00, a doctor of pharmacology/toxicology; and Kenneth Hill ’00, a medical doctor. The Advisors are professionals that help shape vision and overall direction for the Academy.
“The LASER program helped us to charter our future in our respective science careers more than 20 years ago. Our goal to return the favor,” said McKellar. With the assistance of Stephenson, who works in k-12 education, Young Carver expanded into Florida, and Stephenson serves as the program coordinator.
McKellar partly credits his success to writing down his goals.
“Eight years ago I wrote out a list of goals entitled ‘The Road to 40 Plan.’ A list of goals I wanted to achieve before my 40th birthday.”
One of his goals was to own a company with a yearly revenue in the six figures. With less than a year to go until he turns 40, McKellar with Young Carver is on track to surpass that mark. “At the time I wrote this goal, I had no job, no company, and Young Carver was not even a thought. But I wrote it and believed it.”
