BENTONVILLE — Teenagers will be able to hear from, ask questions and connect with local entrepreneurs and business leaders through the new Leaders of Bentonville series at the public library.

“We want to get real-life experience to teens,” said Sarah Gowdy, teen services librarian.

Leaders of Bentonville will allow teenagers to interact with people who are in their careers and leading businesses, Gowdy said.

“Maybe they haven’t thought about going to ask someone in the community, but now they’ll have that opportunity,” Gowdy said. “It’s all about connecting those two demographics together.”

There will be something to learn from each speaker even if some teenagers don’t want to pursue the same career path, Gowdy said.

“They can still listen to a person’s story and still correlate it to their own experiences,” she said.

The program will launch at 4 p.m. Jan. 21 with guest speakers Kind Kitchen Owners Tommy and Jennifer Rollins.

Jennifer left work in the restaurant industry and Tommy left his in customer service at a car dealership to start Kind Kitchen about two years ago. Kind Kitchen is a mobile concession trailer that uses as much locally grown food as possible and offers food options for everyone, including those who are vegan or gluten free.

They often serve at 104 S.W. A St., according to their Facebook page.

The Rollins’ story is about living out life’s passions, not just about being local restaurant owners. And it’s finding that passion, whatever it may be, that they will speak to teenagers about, Jennifer Rollins said.

The life model is changing. It used to be that people went to school, went to college, got a degree, found a job, got married and started a family, Jennifer said.

“I don’t really think that’s the model anymore,” she said. “I think it’s about finding your passion and finding how to create a living from that passion.”

That’s what she and Tommy were able to do with Kind Kitchen, Jennifer said. Her passion is food, his is service and through Kind Kitchen they are able to make a living by helping people through making food.

“We found our joy, and I think that’s important to tell teenagers,” she said.”If they want it, they can make it happen. If you have a passion, don’t give up on it.”

Gowdy said she’s hopes teenagers leave each session with a better understanding of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, start a career and follow their dreams.

The speakers lined up for the first three months are relatively young and have started their businesses “from scratch,” said Hadi Dudley, library director.

“They’re doing great things in our community, and those young leaders are stepping up,” she said. “I think that teenagers need to be able to see that if ‘I go to school and I believe in myself and I do the things that are necessary to become successful, I can achieve my dreams.’”

The Leaders of Bentonville program is just one of many new programs geared toward teenagers. The library hired Gowdy as the teen services librarian in July to expand programs offered to youth.