Fourth annual Summer Innovation Academy concludes

Eastern North Carolina high school students learn about entrepreneurship in classroom setting

Students learn how to be entrepreneurs during the first Summer Innovation Academy, which took place in 2018.

For the fourth year in a row, the College of Business (COB) and the Miller School of Entrepreneurship introduced high school students to what it takes to become an entrepreneur.

The annual Summer Innovation Academy, a free and weeklong program for local and out-of-state students, recently concluded with 15 students learning more about entrepreneurial characteristics, opportunity recognition, design thinking and pitch development/presentation skills.

“Despite having to remain virtual, this proved to be another successful year for the Summer Innovation Academy,” said Corey Pulido, academy organizer.

Felicity Ream is a 13-year old from Greenville, North Carolina. She participated in this year’s academy because she “wanted to learn more about entrepreneurship and how to start a business.”

“I would recommend the academy to others because it is a good educational experience, and what you learn can help in many areas of life, not just in starting a business,” added Ream.

Like previous academies, participating students pitched their ideas to showcase what they learned during the academy.

Pulido says that next year’s academy will go back to the traditional, face-to-face format, but an online component will still be in the mix.

Since its inception, the Summer Innovation Academy has hosted 85 students.