OHS Social Enterpreneurship: Student Business With a Cause

WHAT IS THE OHS SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM?

In the simplest terms, the OHS Entrepreneurship Program expects that, by the end of the year, senior students will design, build, and implement a micro-business (or non-profit) either individually or in small groups that has a social benefit at its foundation. This, however, is the end of a long journey for students, one that begins with self-discovery and goal-setting, and then examines how to leverage those personal strengths and passions into a value proposition capable of creating income as well as social change.

The larger goal is to connect students to the community, to help them realize that their own ideas can have an impact, and that the best niche for their entrepreneurial vision is not in New York City or Silicon Valley, but right here at home – a place they already know, a place they can help grow.

We need your help to keep this program successfully funded into the future -- providing resources, investment dollars, and experiences that will make a lasting difference in the lives of these young professionals.

HOW DO STUDENTS SUCCEED IN THIS PROGRAM?

To answer this, we have to first accept what success is not. It is not how much money the student makes. It is not whether the student’s business scales up or fails into extinction. It is not even the grade the student gets in any one assessment, or in the course itself. Instead, the program is a well-timed microcosm of life, a chance for senior year students to “enter the real world” – a place often cited by educators but rarely allowed to be visited.

In the program, as in life, students will experience ups and downs, excitement and frustration, anxiety and relief, successes and failures on all scales. Yet, all of these experiences will be taking place within the supportive environment of school – a safety net that does not exist in “the real world.” The success of the program, therefore, comes from the way that it adapts to each student’s experience, how it challenges students to face and cross thresholds, or how it facilitates responses to conflicts, or how it slows down and pauses moments to help students see the inner-workings of relationships and team dynamics.

In a sense, the program operates under the same principles that it teaches: like a business, it has a well-researched vision. Like a business, it must be willing to pivot to adapt to the needs of its customers. And, like a business, it must seek a higher purpose than the simple economy of grades or content coverage. It is our hope that the entrepreneurship program adds to the increasingly diverse and experiential courses at OHS, and that the students look back on it not in terms of what it taught, but in terms of how they were changed by it.

If you support this type of innovative education, we hope you'll contribute to this campaign and share it with your friends and family!