By Mary O’KEEFE
Webster Dictionary defines an “entrepreneur” as “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.” But a group of kids from La Cañada are expanding that definition to include one who is fearless, confident, well-spoken and respectful – thanks to an after-school program called School X.
Developers of the non-profit School X program are Zach Jennings and Eric Lin. With their life experience in development, the pair came up with the idea to guide students in the area of business.
“We are both entrepreneurs, we both run and own our own companies,” Lin said. “We think kids are perfectly capable of [developing] their own projects.”
Lin referenced college programs that allow students to develop and present ideas during a “pitch fest,” which he said younger students could do just as well as older kids.
The School X after-school program works with students from La Cañada schools and reaches out to students from age 7 to high school. At present they are working with elementary school students but will soon be moving onto the middle school and then to older kids.
“[The students] really get it. We have found through offering this program students as young as 7 years old can get the ideas and can go the distance for developing and presenting their ideas to the world,” Jennings said.
The program allows the kids the freedom to come up with their ideas, then work on how to develop them, even offering ways to get “seed money.” They then learn how to pitch their products to the public, which is what they were doing at a recent Sunday at the Montrose Harvest Market.
Nayan Shah, a third grader at Paradise Canyon Elementary, came up with an idea for clipping nails. He cut a plastic water bottle about a third of the way down from the cap. He then hot glued a little plastic holder onto the side and attached the clipper. The nails go into the bottle as they are clipped and then emptied.
“I came up with this idea when my mom was cutting my nails and they flew onto the carpet. Some of the carpet was white so it was hard to look for the nail. So I thought of an idea for a solution so you don’t have to bend over to pick up your nails,” Shah said. “You can just clip your nails and put them in the trash.”
Abby Woods, a fifth grader from Palm Crest Elementary, came up with the illuminating idea of making lights out of all types of containers including colorful cups.
School X meets with kids after school and on Saturdays to prepare their items to sell.
“They learn entrepreneurial principles but also life principles,” Jennings said. “They learn how to speak about their idea and how to be confident in front of others. They also learn what it is like to get a little bit of rejection like these kids here [at the Harvest Market]. They are selling their ideas but there are a few folks who will say, ‘No I am not interested.’”
Lin said the kids learned to deal with constructive criticism and to balance success with critiques. And some of those critics are their own peers.
“When we are pitching to each other the students are there,” Jennings said.
So the kid pitching his or her idea will hear from others as to what they like or don’t like about that idea. The ideas are not limited to an invention or specific items, either. Jennings and Lin will be moving into the areas of culinary arts and robotics as they move the program forward.
Eli Street, a second grader from PCY, was selling his own self-published book, “The Adventures of the Bear; Meet Fred and Bob,” a story he said that he worked on for about a month. He also illustrated it as well.
Many of those selling their items were also partnering with a non-profit, allowing part or all of the proceeds raised to go to that chosen worthy cause.
PCY student Montana LaBarge, a fifth grader, was selling T-shirts and organizing a soccer tournament. She titled her efforts “Kicks for a Cure” with the proceeds donated to the City of Hope, where her father works.
“The [money from the] T-shirts I am selling today will be used as seed money for the [soccer] tournament,” she said.
She even joined the City of Hope website and has raised about $900 as of Tuesday. To find her website and to donate go to http://ourhope.cityofhope.org and search Montana LaBarge in the fundraisers search bar.
For more information on School X visit www.school-x.org.