Category: Reflections
A Meeting with Natalie Nixon
When studying Natalie Nixon’s work before our meeting, I was struck by something she mentioned in her interview with Forbes. She was asked about the value of pausing and responded with the three R’s, “restore, reorient and reboot”. These three terms are heavily important and I was interested in having a conversation with her on this subject. I was also interested in her travels. I believe traveling helps to open the mind up to new experiences and realize new, better ways of thinking. Nixon had been on many trips to foreign countries and hearing her journeys and the impact they had on her is something that I was looking forward to.
The meeting with Natalile Nixon was a very rewarding experience. Having the ability to listen to someone who is well-versed in the ideas that the class is built upon, helped me to connect certain ideas that I hadn’t before. For instance, I had never linked abstract and concrete creativity together. The way she spoke about how humans are built to be creative and that every job required some sort of creativity was eye-opening for me. It allowed me to see that no matter where I end up in life, I will always be able to use the creative skills I’ve gained over time. All in all, I greatly enjoyed having the opportunity to listen to Professor Nixon speak and I gained a more thorough knowledge of the realm of creativity.
Stomping Grounds: An Overview and Reflection
At the start of last school year I embarked on a goal of organizing and curating a local music festival, emphasizing local artists who wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to perform. I was able to formulate my idea into a full-blown project through a class called Innovation Lab offered at my high school. Innovation Lab studies the foundations of entrepreneurship and lets learners explore their passions through intrinsically-motivated projects. I knew I wanted to pursue this idea early on in the school year and thus heavily researched how to create a music festival. After reading articles upon articles about the subject of music festivals I knew a team of driven, passionate individuals would be necessary for my idea to succeed..
After introducing and presenting the festival idea to my peers, I formed a team of six students, all with their own unique skill-sets, to help the project come to fruition. We officially started working on the festival in late October. Through my leadership and the teams’ hard-work, we began to gain traction fast.
By the end of our first month we had chosen a name; Stomping Grounds, meant to highlight the festival’s focus on local artists and community. Five artists, of the seven we had hoped to line up, committed to the gig immediately. One of our team members, employed at a local music shop, was able to get a meeting scheduled with his employer, and through this meeting, we successfully secured a partnership whereby they would supply all the necessary audio equipment. And lastly, our marketing manager had successfully set up our social media. At this point however, we were struggling to find a location and funding for the event. Luckily, to my surprise, I discovered that a college in our area, Ursinus, was planning a music festival of their own. I immediately gathered my team and wrote an email to the director of Ursinus’s event. I explained our plans and outlined our idea and our mission. I asked if they might be interested in meeting with us to talk about how our ideas might align.
To my excitement, they agreed. My team and I went into the meeting knowing we would have to sell our idea as one of a kind. Going into the discussion we were confident and when it was over, I still was, even though they didn’t give us a clear answer. They told us they’d let us know. Then came the silence.
After an entire month of trying to contact them, nothing. I assumed that my dream was over and was close to giving up, due to the lack of funding. However, I chose to remain optimistic; brainstorming with my team how to pivot from the festival aspect.
Then, on December 19th, I received a call from the director of Ursinus’ Music on Main. Our patience and persistence paid off, they had agreed to partner with us for the event. They had agreed to not only give us our own stage to curate and organize, but also provide the funding. I was ecstatic for their support.
January and February were spent confirming all the artists we had previously contacted, creating a larger social media presence, and contacting vendors to set up at our stage. Before lockdown was imposed we were gaining a healthy social media presence, had just begun to hang up our customized posters, and had secured all our artists, consisting of four rappers, a heavy metal band, and an alt-rock band. Out of all six acts, four of them were high school students, the other two being in college. This is something I was immensely proud of, being able to obtain six very talented acts all being young and up-and-coming artists. However the world had a different plan for Stomping Grounds then I envisioned. When COVID-19 hit, Stomping Grounds was postponed and all of our progress was immediately reset and cancelled.
My time as leader of Stomping Grounds has taught me to never stop pursuing my dreams, even in a time of anguish and uncertainty. When Ursinus wasn’t responding to me, I made sure we, as a group, didn’t stop reaching out to potential artists and posting on social media. Most importantly, I inspired them to continue to fulfill our purpose and mission and consider alternative possibilities. It was the most I’ve ever learned about myself as a person and that is a main part of why I find it so easy to write about the experience. Now, months after the cancellation of my creation, I still cannot wait to continue the Stomping Grounds journey into the future!
NOVA LAB YEAR ONE: The True Story
At the start of the journey, there is always anxiety and excitement surrounding the months ahead. The journeyer forsees the trials and tribulations they will encounter, the prospect of rewards, and the danger of failure as a challenge to conquer. That is what NOVA LAB is, a conquest of personal learning. Beginning my project, I never expected it would turn out so different from how I envisioned it, but I realize now, looking back, it never was about how my project, Stomping Grounds Music Festival, ended, but the knowledge and lessons I gained and learned throughout. Isn’t that how
many stories go, the hero starts with their grand vision, along the way they meets people, learns new skills, solves problems, until they realizes their ultimate goal wasn’t the true value of the journey, but the hardwork and dedication put into it? For the future NOVA LAB learners, I hope that they too realize that fully immersing in this once-in-a-lifetime experience yields greater rewards than any other journey they’ve experienced thus far in their lives. NOVA LAB has given me the idea of persistence and that when you are passionate about your work, nothing can or will stop you.
The Importance of Entrepreneurship in American Schools
In today’s economy, the workforce’s needs are shifting and we find ourselves in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty. Yet, we know who will lead our country into the new era of economic prosperity. Thundering into the workforce, innovators and creators will have the world in their hands, and are allowed to shape it however they want. New abilities being stressed, like critical-thinking and innovation, must be taught in places of learning if we want to see economic prosperity at our fingertips. If students don’t possess the skills necessary to succeed in this modern, creativity-focused economy, it hurts not just the students, but the entire country. An entrepreneurship class that focuses on letting learners find their passion, grow skills such as collaboration and empathy, and work on real world-impacting projects fulfills a curriculum needed throughout every American school.
When studying entrepreneurship, students will feel an intense drive to find their passion. When students are discovering their personal ambitions will give them more clarity when answering the age old question, “ What do you want to do when you grow up?” This forward thinking approach to student’s futures will boost their long term chances of success. As said by Asim Dalal of Entrepreneur.com, “Passion…is the chief driver of successful entrepreneurship anywhere in the world.” He also stated passion supplies the “inherent fuel and inexhaustible stamina” allowing entrepreneurs to “overtake and surpass various challenges.” Dalal knows how important finding one’s passion at a young age is as he was drawn to his passion, retail, when he was still a student and ultimately made his business into a nationally recognized store in India. What if every person in the U.S schooling system had the ability to, at the very least, find what their inner drive is? It would lay the groundwork for an economic boom, as students coming out of high school would possess a clearer picture of the occupation, the major, or the passion they want to pursue by taking this class. And while one could argue, “Dalal is an exception”, such is not true. Thousands of people who, just by finding their passion, have gone on to change their community, their state, their nation, and even the world. Take for example the girl waging an international war on climate change, Greta Thunberg. If she didn’t have the space her parents and school allowed her to create, where would she be today; She’d be nowhere! If we can help students find their love for something in their youth or adolescence, we can maximize the chances of their success by letting them find not only their innermost ambitions, but allowing them to explore and discover what truly drives them in life.
Students that study entrepreneurship are also better suited to lead and work with others in the workforce. Such study would stress collaboration and joint projects, allowing classtakers to realize what unique skills they possess and offer when facing certain situations. Discovering one’s certain set of abilities immediately allows them to enter the workforce advertising their skills, instead of figuring them out on the job. This could lead
to higher paying jobs right out of high school or college. And, if a former student is starting a business, it would offer a better understanding of what skill sets to look for company partners. A class that focuses on entrepreneurship breeds teamwork, and out of teamwork comes an environment appertaining to racial, gender, and sexual equality. Everyone learning and studying the impacts of innovation and the impacts of entrepreneurship, must work together on important entreprises with real world impacts. This type of work requires each pupil to value each other and work together with peers from different backgrounds. Students put into these situations are automatically more socially-conscious citizens and have a much more refined world view, compared to someone who stayed within their own circle. According to Entrepreneur.com, “women are starting businesses at one and a half times the rate of the national average” and minorities now “account for $591 billion in revenue” making up “15% of all businesses”. In a time where prejudice and animosity are so prevalent, an entrepreneurship class can combat these forces. It can inspire a modern economy that eliminates the excessive biases present in our workforce today, where every race, every creed, and every identity has an equal opportunity to succeed in their passion.
If doubt still exists that an entrepreneurship centric class should be required throughout American schools, take a look at my school’s (Perkiomen Valley High School), initial attempt at such a class, of which I am currently enrolled in. In its opening iteration, the class, called Innovation Lab, has already harvested multiple real-world influencing projects in just its first months. Project missions range from increasing the amount of young voters, to hosting a music festival with a focus on gifted, local musicians, to restoring people’s love of the outdoors through trips to local natural wonders. What you might be thinking is: all these projects sound great in theory (they do), have they really come to fruition? Well, the answer to that question is yes, they have. Living Now, whose mission consists of expanding the younger generation’s love for nature, has seen sizable growth in their social media since the posting of their first video and have had great success selling clothing apparel to their followers, just within two months of the brand 
beginning. Stomping Grounds Music Festival, which is my creation, has partnered with Ursinus College’s 125th Anniversary festival and is bringing their own stage and artists to the event, which has the opportunity to host over 4,000 people. Not to be forgotten, Make It 100 allowed over 80 high school seniors to register to vote in the upcoming primary and election! These three success stories are just a few of the multiple projects to come out of the class. Think if we put something like this in every single school in America! Not only would we be allowing students to gain real world interaction, we would have a plethora of new, innovative business ideas that its founders would have much more time to refine and grow. These projects are occuring while students are studying what makes a successful entrepreneur, and uncovering our passions. All of Innovation Lab’s learning can be described as an evolving process through an in-class exercise called Project Wayfinder. Wayfinder is conducted every Monday, and it gives students different objectives having to do with one’s purpose in life. I know from personal experience that Innovation Lab has had a great effect on not only my willingness to learn, but my drive to succeed, and I want that for each and every student in America.
If you are interested in learning more about NOVA LAb and projects being completed in the class, all project’s social media and blogs, as well as Nova Lab’s own blog and youtube, are linked below: Continue reading “The Importance of Entrepreneurship in American Schools”
Weekly Reflection
This week was HUGE. Finally we have heard from Ursinus and they have confirmed that Stomping Grounds will officially be a part of Music on Main. This is amazing and allows us to fully form the vision we have had since day one. This experience is one that I value, as through adversity and stalemates, I learned you must keep pushing through to achieve your goal. I’m extremely excited that Ursinus has given us this opportunity to provide this stage for upcoming artists that we feel have immense amounts of talent. My work ethic for the project after getting this news went from dwindling, to exponential. This week will be spent reaching back out to artists and confirming that they are available and willing to perform. We are grateful for the partnership Ursinus had provided us and plan on making their decision much worth their while.
Weekly Reflection
During this week we continued to reach out to potential artists and businesses. Our main accomplishment was successfully reaching out to rapper Armani White. He has amassed over 22k followers on Instagram and 2.1 million streams on Spotify. Unfortunately we have met setbacks with progressing with Ursinus and partnering with them. They have not responded to any of my emails since our meeting and I’m beginning to believe we will be moving forward without their assistance. While this creates a much tougher road to our goal, we will continue to press forward on our journey to providing a music outlet for artists who don’t have an opportunity to perform on their own. Kevin and I have started to reach out to local businesses about sponsoring the event. Our first store was Vincent’s Pizza and we are waiting to hear a response from them.
Reflection on Marking Period One
With the gates shut on the first quarter of the school year, now is a great time to look back and analyze what was accomplished during this time. We began back in August with raw, unedited ideas. I know I was excited to begin the class and start to work on something I was passionate about. I had a few ideas at the time, but none were conclusive yet. I remember deep-thinking about what problem could I solve or what am I truly passionate about. Towards mid September, I found my mission. I was going to create a unmatched music festival in the area highlighting local talent that otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to participate in such an event. I finalized my idea and began researching many of the basic needs for a festival. Through my research I came to the conclusion I’d need a big team in order to get my project under way. So, through word of mouth, I’ve created a team of 6 peers that are helping me accomplish my goals.
In October, the true work began. Research was being done and we took baby steps reaching out to local areas that might be interested in hosting the event. By doing this, we scored a meeting with Ursinus College, who is having their own music festival in April. The goal right now is to partner with them and create our own stage. This still allows us to curate and organize our vision, yet letting it happening in a much more controlled way.
November was a huge month for my project, in terms of growth and outreach. We have contacted and secure multiple, area-famous artists to play at our festival. Some of the artists we have reached out include Ben Smith, Nate Dirocco, and Yung Tilla. We have also reached out to businesses about sponsoring our event. We want a number of diverse businesses at the event, so this is our next big challenge. I’m very optimistic about the future our project holds, while we have encountered a few setbacks, I am still confident it will come to fruition.
The future is now upon us. Our projects are about to come to fruition and our goals will start their journey. I am excited to start my journey and make my impact on the world. What I’ve learned thus far is that your age doesn’t matter. As long as you possess the drive to achieve your purpose, you can follow through with anything. I’m looking forward to the coming of this class.
Reflection on Innovation Lab Month #1
Something Happened…
When I walked into Mr. Heidt’s classroom, returning from a long summer break, on the first day of school, I was excited to begin this new class. I had been taught by Mr. Heidt the previous year and looking forward to continuing my search for passion and identity in this new, mysterious class by the name of Innovation Lab. I was drawn to the class because of the promise of intrinsically motivated, self-managed project that I would be creating throughout the year.
What Happened
Throughout the past month, we have laid the groundwork for success for our projects. Using different exercises in problem-finding and empathy the class has grown its knowledge in innovation and solving problems we didn’t even know existed. Throughout the year I have no doubt we will use these skills to further our projects. We also built a greater sense of community in the class, which allows for class projects and greater group work.
So What?
Now, with this knowledge, we are ready to start our projects and make a change in the community. I know I want my project to have a profound impact on the community, thus the idea of a music festival. While slow, the first month was necessary for us to succeed in the class. We have grown from individuals, to group trying to find its purpose together.
Next What?
The future is now upon us. Our projects are about to come to fruition and our goals will start their journey. I am excited to start my journey and make my impact on the world. What I’ve learned thus far is that your age doesn’t matter. As long as you possess the drive to achieve your purpose, you can follow through with anything. I’m looking forward to the coming of this class.