High School Fellows Learn the Power of Enterprise

High school students discovered the power of the human mind to create value through enterprise and markets during an immersion experience July 27-31, 2015, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

“I’m inspired,” Smith School professor Rajshree Agarwal told participants during the closing ceremony of the inaugural Snider Enterprise and Leadership Fellows (SELF) program, which brought together 47 rising high school juniors and seniors from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. “If these are the young adults who represent our future, then our future is in very good hands.”

Program organizers included the school’s Undergraduate Program and the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets, which Agarwal directs. During the experience, Smith School faculty guided the fellows through workshops on leadership, entrepreneurship, finance, accounting and marketing.

“We did not hold back,” Agarwal told the participants. “We did not treat you like high school kids, and you matched our expectations.”

Agarwal said many people view capitalism merely as a way to make money, but the SELF participants learned how to engage in voluntary trade to solve problems and build win-win outcomes.

Rather than just talking about the philosophical underpinnings of ethical business, the fellows divided into teams and brainstormed about actual problems affecting their lives. Then they prepared and presented business plans to a panel of judges.

BreathFriend, the winning pitch, promised to curb underage drunk driving by connecting vehicle ignition breathalyzers to a smartphone app controlled by parents. Team members said they were motivated by tragedies in their communities.

“You got our attention quickly with your personal stories,” Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Victor Mullins told the winning team. “And during your Q&A, you were just natural.”

Other business plans presented during the competition included:

• DesignMind, a smartphone app that would connect do-it-yourself decorators with home furnishings that match specified color schemes and tastes.
• Mocha Machine, a smart kitchen appliance that would give coffee and tea drinkers remote access through their smartphones.
• PowerPlay, an on-the-go phone charger for longboards, bicycles and other nonmotorized vehicles.
• Shuffle Duffle, a waterproof and sand-resistant beach bag.
• Cardware, a GPS tracker shaped like a credit card, which people could store in their cars, wallets or other items that sometimes get misplaced.
• STACC, the Sustainable Tower of Accessible Charging Cubes, which travelers could use at airports when they need to charge their phones, and all available outlets are occupied.
• HideLighter, a highlighter with colorful ink that fades automatically at the end of a semester, so students could return their used textbooks in good shape.
• A technology education company that would help older users understand electronic gadgets.

Besides Mullins, who represented Smith’s undergraduate program, judges included entrepreneur and designer Chris Lane ’15 and Social Growth Technologies CEO Paul Capriolo, Computer Science ’06.