CARLISLE, Pa. (WHTM) -- Looking back, Jaren Kirkland's first early promotion -- to the fifth grade, after just eight weeks in the fourth grade -- should have prepared the world for what was to come.
"I've always been that young person in the room," Kirkland, 23, said standing outside his Amazon Prime delivery van.
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He'd be among the youngest in a room of drivers because, well, drivers have to be 21. But by 21, already a college graduate (from University of Michigan) and working in Washington, D.C., as a research analyst, he wanted something more. His father Sam back in Michigan suggested getting into what you might call the family business: being what's called a "delivery service partner," or DSP, for Amazon.
Those now-ubiquitous Amazon Prime vans are actually driven not by Amazon employees but by drivers who work for DSP companies owned by people like -- well, like Sam Kirkland.
Jaren applied to become one.
"Being 21 at the time, we didn't really expect that I was going to get approved for it," Jaren Kirkland said. "But to all of our surprise, I ended up getting approved."
A rather small business, at first, serving a giant one: "When I started, it was just me. I basically did everything that the business required."
Then it was time to ramp up. And up. Now, Jaren's company has about 80 drivers, based in Williamsport, Md., and primarily working delivery routes in places like Chambersburg and Shippensburg.
Almost everyone who works for him is younger than he is.
"I have to balance that respect for your elders I was raised on but also, like: 'This is my standard. This is my team, is my operation, and this is what I need you to do so that we can all be successful,'" Kirkland said. "But I think I've learned from them, I hope they've learned from me in the meantime."
He says the next-youngest DSP in Williamsport is something like 35 years old. And he knows his age isn't the only thing that distinguishes him.
"I definitely feel like there is an added responsibility on my shoulders being not only 23 but also Black," Kirkland said. "Because there could be another 23-year-old who wants the same opportunity and another Black person wants the same opportunity."
What he wants those people to see: "If Jaren can do it -- Black, 23-year-old entrepreneur -- another person who fits the same profile can do it as well."
The message for the rest of the world?
"Give people a chance," Kirkland said. "I think that's something that I try to impart in my hiring process. Someone took a chance on me. Take a chance on other people. You never know what people can accomplish."
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