Why Entrepreneurship is So Important for Students

While typical students appreciate the importance of academics, they may limit their focus to the more traditional disciplines: English, history, mathematics, science, foreign language, and fine arts. Many students, however, understand that entrepreneurship courses enhance their education by teaching the art of communication, time management, negotiation, and collaboration. Indeed, entrepreneurship is not just another subject; it is a mindset that helps individuals develop nimble thinking so they can identify problems and find solutions that create value. These analytical and interpersonal skills transcend the workplace, which is why entrepreneurship is so important for students.

This article will explore the top three reasons why students should enroll in entrepreneurship courses, particularly during high school: 

• Develop Innovative Thinking
• Lead through Collaboration
• Combine Tenacity with Confidence

Why Entrepreneurship is So Important for Students

Today, many visionary students aspire to run their own business, mainly because they seek autonomy, financial security, and vocational flexibility. Indeed, some of these young adults will inherit a family business, hoping to fortify and extend the legacy. By contrast, others will launch a startup to meet an emerging need in the community. These individuals will benefit from entrepreneurship courses that show them how to innovate, lead, collaborate, and persevere.

Nonetheless, many students have no intention of pursuing a career in business. Instead, they gravitate to public service, healthcare, education, or the arts. Interestingly, these students also need to develop skills that prepare them to innovate, lead, collaborate, and persevere; that is why entrepreneurship is so important for all students.

Entrepreneurship for Students: Develop Innovative Thinking

Since entrepreneurship courses can apply to anyone from any walk of life, we should consider the benefits of entrepreneurial studies, beginning with innovative thinking.

Our world is changing rapidly, so tomorrow’s young entrepreneurs must know how to navigate a technological culture with ease. Students should register for STEM courses that train them to write code, design interfaces or construct prototypes. Entrepreneurs frequently envision products or services that have not existed heretofore, so developing these tech-savvy capabilities in high school can give them a distinct advantage over their peers when they reach adulthood.

Through Marlborough’s Honors Capstone in Entrepreneurship, students launch a product or service to a target market.

• In Marlborough's Honors Capstone in Entrepreneurship, students work independently or in teams to master basic startup principles. They focus on design, marketing, and communication skills, then submit a business plan to investors. In many ways, the class functions as an interdisciplinary internship whereby students build on their STEM experience. For instance, students conduct experiments that either validate or invalidate hypotheses, propelling students to the next step or requiring them to revise their plan. Concurrently, students create coordinating web pages before pitching their idea to a panel of judges during Marlborough's SPARC Tank.

This innovative program is only one example of why entrepreneurship is so important for students.

Entrepreneurship for Students: Lead Through Collaboration

When students enroll in entrepreneurship courses, they learn to lead through collaboration.

Entrepreneurial students tend to work in teams; thus, they share responsibilities as they practice active listening. Additionally, the students have recurring opportunities to write and present clear, articulate speeches. Thus, they develop effective communication skills that apply to every facet of life and any career path.

Clearly, entrepreneurship is important for students as they prepare for life and work. Here is one inspiring example from Marlborough:

• Sylvia G. ’19 invented a portable water filtration system after hearing about contaminated water in Mexico that resulted in a friend’s illness. Although the process took Sylvia a few years to complete, she received a patent, prompting her to start a club at Marlborough called “Patent Pending.” Sylvia combined her love for science and the environment with her compassion, leading to a life-changing invention.

As students in entrepreneurship programs hone their communication skills and collaborate with one another, they develop respect, empathy, camaraderie, and trust, preparing them for leadership as they enter adulthood. 

Marlborough believes that entrepreneurship is so important for students that we have designed special entrepreneurship courses and activities that train young people for leadership. Here are two examples:

• Entrepreneurship 101: Design Your Future invites students to utilize entrepreneurial resources as they experiment with digital storytelling, market research, and design. Later, students gather as teams to analyze their data, then create a business plan for a new product or service.

• Design for Social Impact: An Interdisciplinary Exploration in Entrepreneurship, Social Justice, and Technology empowers students to impact society through proactive technology and conscientious entrepreneurship. After students visit local businesses and nonprofit organizations, they target a specific need in their community, and by working in teams, they arrive at a sustainable solution. Students also learn to leverage technology and build a website, thus advancing social justice.

In addition to an emphasis on collaborative leadership, courses such as the two listed above demonstrate why entrepreneurship is so important for students: today’s teenagers can make a difference in the world!

Entrepreneurship for Students: Combine Tenacity with Confidence

Perhaps more than any other reason, students should enroll in entrepreneurship courses because these classes help young people develop grit, a quality that every person needs to succeed in life.

Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation, says, “Grit is made up of persistence, passion and resilience. It's the passion to achieve long-term goals, the courage to try again in the face of rejection, and the will to do something better than it has been done before."

Accomplished entrepreneurs know that life is often hard; however, they also understand that calculated risks and hard work can lead to discoveries that affect a company’s trajectory. While  problems can derail some people, it can also produce a sense of determination in others.

Students enrolled in entrepreneurship courses may encounter daunting obstacles, but their desire to persist through the difficulty can build character and stamina.

Additionally, as they mature, students gain confidence, viewing challenges as opportunities, rather than personal failure.

At Marlborough, our entrepreneurial students persist, despite setbacks, because they belong to a caring community that encourages them to take risks and grow.

• For instance, we know that most of the jobs that will exist in 2030 do not exist today. That’s why Marlborough established the Shari and Ed Glazer Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, weaving together engineering, digital arts, robotics, media, academic research, and entrepreneurship. By empowering students with quality education, cutting-edge technology, and gifted mentors, our young people can bring their imagination to life.

As they enter adulthood, young people need confidence and tenacity to turn life’s challenges into learning experiences; that’s why entrepreneurship is so important for students.

Why Choose Marlborough?

Marlborough serves girls in grades 7 through 12. As a private, college-preparatory secondary school, we are conveniently located in the heart of Los Angeles, California.

Our goal is to ignite intellectual inquiry and to build the problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills that our students will need to innovate, invent, and lead in college and beyond.

Next Steps

If you want your daughter to become a curious, agile thinker, consider Marlborough. Our outstanding educational program will help you understand why entrepreneurship is so important for students, especially as your daughter prepares for college and beyond.

Want to know more about the Marlborough experience? 

 Contact us today