While math, science and other core subjects teach students the concepts they need to know in college and their careers, other classes prepare students who plan to strive for entirely new paths. At St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, students are offered an entrepreneurship class that teaches how to start and run businesses or organizations, work without the guidance of a boss and create new ideas.
The class is taught by Mary Gillman, a business electives teacher, who has worked on developing and improving the class for the past few years. Gillman teaches the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, such as creating business plans and presenting pitches, and prepares students for their own “Shark Tank,” where, like the TV show, students come up with a new product idea and pitch.
“I’ve learned so much useful information in this class, and I feel prepared if I were to create my own business plan one day,” said junior Lia Pugsley.
With the help of Christina Desmarais, director of community engagement, Gillman secured mentors who were experienced in their fields and willing to help in the class. They even assembled a few Paul VI alumni and current parents. Lorenzo D’Agostino is a Paul VI alumnus and owns multiple Tony’s NY Pizza restaurants, a chain started by his family.
“It is vital to remember that it is normal to not have all the answers,” said Joseph F. Terpenning, a business owner since 2003 who has a daughter in the class. “A successful entrepreneur and business owner needs to be true to themselves and know when to seek the advice and expertise of fellow experts. The knowledge is already out there and many things have been tried. Learning from other people’s success and failure is not weakness, it is wisdom.”
Mentors who came throughout the semester were happy to see the students’ plans from start to finish. “I enjoyed seeing the progress that was being made,” said mentor Kevin Sturm. “Hopefully I helped the students look at the bigger picture and view their business from the perspective of the customers that they want to serve,” he said.
The students valued being able to meet with the mentors. “What I think was really special was having the opportunities to meet with so many different mentors that came into the class,” Colby said. “They really helped me narrow down my vision for my idea and ultimately made it better.”
Students acted as small business owners while participating in Shark Tank at the end of the semester, and according to mentors, the presentations went well.
“The students just stepped up,” said Gillman. “That’s a lot for a high schooler to do, and they did so well.”
The mentors’ advice and information learned in entrepreneurship class will help students in the future, no matter the path they follow or create themselves.
