Jada Hudson, 17, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida listens to Shaun Yorgey, director of strategic innovation for Perkiomen School, on Thursday, July 7, 2022, during an entrepreneurial competition at the school in Pennsburg. (Rick Kintzel/The Morning Call)
For seven years, Penn State Lehigh Valley’s LaunchBox has held a business learning summer camp, Teen Entrepreneur Challenge, for high schoolers, culminating in a “Shark Tank”-style competition.
The program adopts a new theme each year; last year, the camp hosted speakers versed in cryptocurrency, and this year, the teens will hear about the post-pandemic economy. 2022′s theme is “The Future of Work: The Gig Economy, the Creator Economy and Remote Work.”
The program went online for two years during the pandemic, and now it is back in person, instructing a cohort of 13 budding entrepreneurs on how to navigate such cultural phenomena as the Great Resignation and the widespread reconsideration of 9-5 jobs.
It began Tuesday, and runs through Sunday at the Perkiomen School in Pennsburg.
Each year, the program selects a slate of speakers and activities apt for the economic and cultural moment, curriculum director Rhonda Walker-Footman said.
The themed content supplements a core curriculum on finance, values and business structure. During the week, students also work, as part of assigned teams, on conceptual business models of their own design. The camp concludes with a contest for the best business presentation and model. The winners get $50 Amazon gift cards.
Devin Lu, a rising senior from Marlboro High School in New Jersey, is developing a music software business concept with his team.
“It would be used to take your favorite sounds from various artists and easily export them to other software; for example, clipping or isolating a specific instrumental,” Lu said. “It would be easily downloadable and small, so that it could be an app.”
Most of the business ideas conceived at Teen Entrepreneur Challenge are not launched in the real world, although some campers choose to build on their designs after the program.
Joshua Dawson, a Teen Entrepreneur Challenge alumnus and resident assistant, parlayed his camp business model into a business that grossed $13,000 last month. Now a sophomore at the University of Delaware, Dawson runs the business, Capital Payments, with his peers from the program. Capital Payments is an ATM distribution company.
“Attending this camp is one of the best things I’ve ever done; they’ve really helped to mold me and my interests,” Dawson said. “It’s been a full circle moment to come back and help the kids who want to go into business, as I did.”
Walker-Footman, who directs the program and advises the campers, had a long career in business before switching to education. She worked at firms such as Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup, and she shares her industry experience with the students.
Besides learning about the fundamentals of business, campers learn about character and have down time to bond with one another. Lu said that his biggest takeaway from the program is “to stay humble, no matter who you’re surrounded with,” as well as to value diversity in business.
Walker-Footman said that she enjoys witnessing how tight knit each group becomes after a matter of days, a sentiment Lu echoed.
“Ultimately, my favorite thing has been spending time with these people,” he said. “They’re really an amazing bunch.”
Copyright © 2022, The Morning Call
Copyright © 2022, The Morning Call
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