Michelle Wait Blog #5 - Final Blog

The above pics are of a few of my students presenting the research they found about famous entrepreneurs - the curriculum I worked on is being tested out!!

Much of the work we will be doing in class this fall comes from ideas in this book which I found through the AIM Institute - http://www.aiminstitute.org

I hope that my internship for Ogallala Commons will be the first of many for teachers in summers to come. The main focus of my teacher internship was to develop an entrepreneurship curriculum for high school students in southeast Colorado. I also got to work with a couple of the student interns on planning a Youth Leadership Camp, planning a Youth Engagement Day for the students in Baca County this fall, and planning the Youth Entrepreneurship Fair for Baca County next spring.

At first developing a curriculum was a daunting task. I started by meeting with my supervisor, Nikki Johnson, the Campo School superintendent, and we tried to contact the instructors at Lamar Community College who had taught entrepreneurship, but these people were unavailable for most of the summer. Daryll Birkenfeld helped me out by sending me some materials he had, so I started going through these books. In addition, I started researching on the internet. After many hours, I came upon a group called the AIM Institute in Nebraska. The AIM Institute is a not-for-profit membership organization that provides information technology leadership to Nebraska and the surrounding region. The institute helps business, educational, and community partners to focus and coordinate their IT resources. Its goal is to help initiate the changes and improvements necessary to meet emerging information technology needs, build a strong workforce, and expand economic growth in our communities. This site was a valuable resource for my curriculum and many lesson plans, as was the gentleman who I contacted through this site, Dave Coover. I am using a book that he wrote for my curriculum this fall, Entrepreneurship & Marketing in the 21st Century. While taking this course, students will have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, business plans, buying and selling on eBay, and develop their own business. The students will not only operate their own business within their classroom, but they will be required to create a business plan of their own to enter in the Youth Entrepreneurship Fair sponsored by the Baca County Economic Development Corporation in the spring. We will also be fitting in field trips to local businesses as the schedule permits. It is my hope that we will have time to take a trip to Mosquero, NM and Booker, TX to learn about the business the students are running in their schools.

One of the other projects that I worked on this summer was the Youth Entrepreneurship Fair which is sponsored by the Baca County Economic Development Corporation. Some changes for the upcoming YEF include having two divisions; one for high school and another for middle school. The winner of the high school division will receive $500, 2nd - $400, and 3rd - $300. The winner of the middle school division will receive $300, 2nd - $200, and 3rd - $100. In addition, there will be a Big Idea Contest in which students will not have to complete a full blown business plan in order to compete in the YEF. The students will enter a business description of enter the Big Idea Contest, and the winner will receive $100. This year we will also try to recruit sponsorships from local businesses so that we can have $100 prizes for categories such as The Most Innovative Business Plan, The Best Ag-Related Business Plan, The Best Arts-Related Business Plan, and so on. We would like to see every student recognized in some way, if possible. I worked to create a rubric for the business plan that the students will turn in to be judged at the YEF. I think it is very important for the students to know exactly what is required of them and to know how they will be judged. This rubric will be very helpful for the students and their teachers, as well as for the judges during the fair.

During part of my internship, I had the opportunity to work with Megan England and Kerra Wait, two of the student interns this summer. These two girls planned a Youth Leadership Camp for the middle school students in Baca County where they helped the participants learn about leadership and entrepreneurship while learning about their communities. Another activity which I have had some input on and will help with this fall is the Youth Engagement Day which will take place this November for all interested Baca County high school students. This day will bring many business people and colleges to Campo to share valuable information with our students.
This internship has been a very educational and inspirational experience. I’m excited about getting my curriculum into the classroom this fall to see what works and what needs changed.

Thank you to Ogallala Commons for the opportunity to take on such a rewarding project!