By Lauren Sewell, Indian Hill High School junior
I am Lauren Sewell, a junior at Indian Hill High School (IHHS), and I’d love to share my Brave learning experience with you. As a student at IHHS, I am involved in a multitude of clubs and extracurricular activities, and one I have excelled in is DECA. During my freshman year, I competed in the Principles of Marketing Event, and I placed third at the district competition, second at the state competition, and I competed at the international competition. My sophomore year, I competed in the Financial Decision Making Team Event, and with my partner, David Slattery, placed first at the state competition, and competed at the international competition. DECA’s real-world business scenarios excite my curiosity.
That curiosity that began with DECA continued when I discovered a learning opportunity with the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC), Business and Entrepreneurship summer program arrived in the mail. The invitation to attend their summer program for Business and Entrepreneurship was one I could not refuse. I chose to go to their Fordham University camp location for an eight-day session; although there were other college campuses I could have selected. They have a wide range of career choices you can explore by going to the summer program – from Business, Government and Law, STEM, Leadership and Arts, and Design programs.
I chose to attend the Business and Entrepreneurship program because of both my DECA experience, as well as my future goals, motivations, and aspirations out of high school and college as a career. The biggest benefit for me going to this program over the summer was that I had the ability to network with future colleagues, build a business from the ground up through a week-long simulation, renovate and modernize a pre-existing company through a week-long simulation, and get a taste of different pathways in business I could go into through seminars, lectures, and hands-on tasks. My comfort zone was pushed as I represented my team in all of our presentations, from a press conference to an annual shareholder’s meeting, to Shark Tank. I learned and grew in my biggest field of interest through this program.
Why do I share this with you? To encourage you to pursue your passion. Summer doesn’t necessarily mean you have to take a break from learning. Expanding your educational opportunity is something that is fostered within Indian Hill High School; we are encouraged to grow while we are inside the classroom, and even when we are not. This program gave me a taste of what my future could become, and it all started with an interest in DECA as a freshman.
Photo caption: Lauren Sewell (pictured third from left) was part of a mock press conference as the culmination of renovation and modernization of a pre-existing company simulation during her summer learning experience.