PERSPECTIVES
Socially Innovative “ E ntrepreneurship is more accessible than it seems. Furthermore, opportunities for contribution to society can exist in unexpected places.” — Angelina Wong ’22
The Social Innovators Program (SIP). The name sounds tailor-made for George School. In fall 2020, two dozen George School students joined this twelve-week program that provides university-level, real-world opportunities for students interested in merging an interest in entrepreneurship with the desire to make a positive impact on society. The program is offered by the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Schoolyard Ventures, in partnership with select high schools. George School was a natural fit. “We look for school partners who are invested,” says Executive Director Rich Sedmak, “but George School students came to the conversation already having given a lot of attention to social impact. They already had a lot of awareness.” This was especially helpful in the program’s first phase, when students join small cohorts with faculty mentors to learn about the basics of entrepreneurship and design their own projects. There is often some “idea anxiety,” Rich describes, as students feel they “have to have a huge idea. Curing cancer is a noble idea but not a good project.” Students consider what they are interested in, come up with a first draft for a project, reach out to people for information interviews, and create “real-world experiments with feedback loops. The idea serves as the context for learning the skills.” The real goal is to develop not just a successful venture, but a successful mindset and pro-
cess to follow again and again. A certificate in social entrepreneurship from Penn is another nice reward.
In a sign of the times, Ben Berman ’21 created a phone app competition, called the Zoom Boom Challenge, to keep students engaged and productive while learning remotely. Spurred by two years of George School economics, Ben is interested in business and saw SIP as an opportunity to test the waters. “Never in a million years did I think part of my homework would be setting up Zoom interviews with CEOs and doctors, creating my own functioning app, crowdsourcing about user interface, and maintaining a successful venture. However, I was not alone… The instructor and assistant were amazing. They reminded me a lot of how our teachers are so receptive and dedicated to their students’ growth at George School.”
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