13-year-old entrepreneur supplies 400 notebooks to Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship

A 13-year-old entrepreneur fulfilled her mission of supplying an entire school with notebooks by giving 400 of her homemade creations to Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship on May 28.

Ryleigh Mackenzie runs her own school supply business called Kenz N’ Co. selling pencil cases, bookbags, affirmation mirrors, notebooks and more. Her products feature images of prominent successful Black figures and Black children shown in a positive light.

“Especially today with all the negativity in the world and in the news, it’s important to see young Black kids in a positive view,” said Ryleigh of Stanton Heights, who attends St. Edmund’s Academy in Squirrel Hill.

The purpose of her business and its products compelled Wayne Jones, CEO of PHCSE, to ask her if she could make 400 notebooks for students while she was vending at the school’s fourth annual “Soaring Shark Tank” event.

“It’s very important to build self-motivation within people and specifically children of color,” he said. “Ryleigh’s idea embodies that.”

Jones knew Ryleigh from her participation in the school’s Shark Tank idea competition. She made it to the semifinals before being eliminated. He invited her back to the school to be a vendor at the competition’s final stage in early March.

“This is just a small sample of what the Charter seeks to do with youth entrepreneurs,” he said. “We look to find ways to create a platform for them to promote their business and give them the encouragement and ability to sell their products.”

Jones said the school plans to distribute the notebooks next school year during its back-to-school event in the fall.

The request came as a surprise for Ryleigh who said she had never handled an order that big but was excited to have kids see themselves through her products.

“It was exciting because I was able to give 400 of my notebooks to many kids, which will impact them in many ways and allow them to see a positive image of themselves,” she said.

Kenz N’ Co. came to life during a search for a shirt with a Black female ballerina on it.

Ryleigh recalled not being able to find a shirt that represented her when she was still dancing. That lack of representation pushed her to start her own business a year ago.

“I decided I wanted to start making things that represented the African-American community because there aren’t many things like that, that are everywhere and available,” she said.

With help from her mother and her younger brother, all of Ryleigh’s products are handmade. She uses a binding machine and paper cutter to create her notebooks. Local customers can choose to have their products dropped off to them. Shipping also is available.

Her notebooks display famous figures, such as Michelle Obama and poet Amanda Gorman, and feature images of Black children as astronaunts or doctors. Notebooks are $5 each.

“I was thinking about the things I wanted to be or different ideas from my brother and just other ideas of where you don’t really see many African Americans in that kind of field,” Ryleigh said.

Ryleigh’s mother, Brittanie Sapp Arnold, said seeing her daughter’s idea thrive after a year has been a wonderful experience.

“I am definitely proud of her for thinking outside of the box and not giving up,” Arnold said.

Ryleigh has been invited as a vendor to 10 pop-up shops, the Gallery on Penn being one of them.

Arnold said she constantly reminds her children that anything is impossible if they put their minds to it.

“It starts now as children to see, ‘OK, I can do this and make this idea come to fruition,’ ” she said.

Supplies can be purchased on Kenz N’ Co.’s Facebook page or email kenzncosupplies@gmail.com.