Most high school students’ wildest dream would be to open their own clothing store and be their own boss, but for sophomore Denym Dawson, it’s a reality.

Dawson has always been a go-getter. From a young age, she watched her parents as successful entrepreneurs and always wanted to be her own boss.

Early on, Dawson also had a love for fashion. She loved seeing celebrities’ style and was inspired to find a style of her own.

“I’ve always loved fashion. When I saw celebrities wearing their own unique style, it influenced me to find my own unlike anyone else’s,” Dawson said.

She combined her love for clothing and entrepreneurship to create her own clothing store: Denym’z.

“I’ve never wanted to work for anyone else so I decided I wouldn’t and I’d be my own boss,” Dawson said.”It feels good to accomplish and have something of my own.”

The process of opening was a long one for Dawson and her parents. She and her parents decided to open up Denym’z in Country Club Hills. They traveled to clothing shows to decide what brands she wanted in her store and invested a lot of time and money into the business.

Displays of clothing brands such as Geek, Rich Star, G-Star, A.K.O.O, and original Denym’z T-shirts and hoodies hung high on Saturday, March 22 at the grand opening of the store. Dawson’s family, close friends and H-F classmates rallied around her in support on the day of the opening.

She has steady success at her store since the grand opening averaging 10 customers a day.  Dawson admits it can get hectic sometimes considering she is an entrepreneur, and an outstanding student and volleyball player.

Lucky for Dawson, her father, Derrick Dawson is able to help her juggle all of her activities, in particular her store.

“It’s very hard to balance school, volleyball, and the store,” Dawson said. “I’m thankful to have my dad to help things run smoothly at the store and of course for his support in what I do.”

Her father supports her business financially and helped get Denym’z off the ground. He runs the store while Dawson is in school.

“I’m so proud of Denym. She is so intelligent and ready to take over the world,” Dawson said. “I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Denym’z.”

Dawson loves the sense of togetherness that the store brings between him and his daughter. He pushes her to succeed and knows that Denym’z could be very beneficial.

“When Denym [graduates from] college, I want her to be able to come home to her own business and build generational wealth and I know she can accomplish it,” Dawson said.

Dawson’s father is not the only person that supports her. Longtime friend, Elexis Johnson loves to see her friend accomplishing her goals.

“It makes me so happy to see her doing big things in life for herself. When she’s in the zone, nobody can bring her down,” Johnson said. “She’s always working hard and working to make her dream a reality.”

Johnson wants to continue watching Dawson grow as an entrepreneur and being happy doing what she loves.

In the future, Dawson hopes to expand Denym’z to more locations and keep working hard with the support of her family and friends. Currently, Dawson only has one location at 4035 W. 175th Street, Country Club Hills, Illinois.