How can young people in under-resourced communities make the economy work for them?
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The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a program to nurture young entrepreneurs at the Met School, a unique charter school in Providence, RI reimagining eduction for underserved learners in poor urban centers. The Center teaches a curriculum called Entrepreneurship 360, incubates students' small businesses, and supports participation in the regional and national competitions through the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).
Recognizing my interests in entrepreneurship, facilitation, and social impact, I visited the Met School in the conceptual stages of forming the Center. Through a serendipitous meeting of like souls, I helped co-found the Center, co-designed the Entrepreneurship 360 curriculum, and taught the course to Met students as a volunteer for four years. Dedicating special involvement to design and innovation portions of the program, I also participated in design sessions for a new 3,600 sqft building, which was constructed in 2012 to house the Center.
I am grateful to Jodie Woodruff and Bill Daugherty at the Met School for taking a chance on me in this role. I never set out to be a teacher, yet I continuously gravitate towards roles of instruction, curriculum design, and mentorship. I believe I do not fully understand a topic until I can teach it, and I find it immensely rewarding to support others in actualizing their potential.
