A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student has been selected out of thousands of students from across the globe to participate in the Forbes Under 30 Scholar Summit in October. 

Jared Stovall, a senior biology major from Cedar Hill, Texas, was thrilled to learn that he had been accepted to the prestigious program to attend the elite young entrepreneur conference. 

“I was very honored to be selected,” Stovall said. “At first, I wasn’t going to apply. My friend, Corey Trimble, convinced me to apply. A few weeks later, I was shocked, happy, and surprised to learn that I made it.”

Labeled by Forbes as the “world’s greatest event for young leaders, founders, investors, and creators,” the Forbes Under 30 Summit will take place Oct. 27-30 in Detroit. Forbes partners with schools and organizations across the United States to provide an opportunity for underrepresented college students to attend the summit. 

Winners of the Forbes Under 30 Scholar program get free access to the summit and the chance to participate in networking opportunities. Students can also meet investors, entrepreneurs, celebrities, musicians, fashion designers, sports stars, cultural icons, world-renowned chefs, educators, political leaders, and business icons. The summit also features a music festival, investor speed-pitching, industry-focused field trips, a pub crawl, a food festival, and a community service day. 

“The opportunity to see all the other successful entrepreneurs and to network and be among people who are successful has made this the opportunity of a lifetime,” Stovall said. 

Stovall works as a Forex/Crypto trader for DFW Tradehouse, where he trains and mentors beginning traders and develops strategies to maximize profits and limit losses. He owes his entrepreneurial spirit to his father, who taught him the value of hard work when he often brought Stovall and his brother to help with the family’s rental properties on weekends. 

“Every Saturday morning, he would have us at rental houses cleaning,” said Stovall. “My brother and I hated it, but then my father would go over all the paperwork with us so we would also understand the logistics and the numbers involved in the real estate market, why he picked certain rental houses, and the factors that made him a success.” 

While he hated the manual labor as a kid who was much more interested in spending his free time playing basketball, Stovall is now grateful for those early lessons that sparked an interest in real estate and entrepreneurism.

“Those lessons paid off a little bit,” Stovall said. “I’m thankful to my parents, Derek and Brenda Stovall, for pushing me to be better. I’m also grateful to my main mentors at DFW Tradehouse, Iffy Marshall and Cris Vargas, as well as my mentors on campus, Amber Wolf, Kenneth Burnett, and Quinshell Smith. They helped me through my journey at UA Little Rock.” 

Stovall is also a member of the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps, volunteers as a mentor for incoming UA Little Rock freshman, and serves as chief justice of the Student Government Association. He has spent the past two summers as an AmeriCorps volunteer, where he mentored sixth graders in Dallas. 

Following his graduation in May 2020, Stovall hopes the lessons he learns and the connections he makes from the Forbes Under 30 Scholar Summit will help advance his career as an entrepreneur. 

“After graduation, I plan to continue trading and continue my journey into real estate,” Stovall said. “I also have a passion for mentoring that I want to continue. I love seeing the growth in people younger than me and being that role model for them and setting that example. It does get challenging at times, but I love every second of it. They are always so appreciative.”