Service Learning
Enactus Problem Solving Challenge
Co-Curricular
The Enactus Problem Solving Challenge was a co-curricular program I participated in during May 2022. This program brought together high school students from an alternative school in Newport News and ODU Enactus/Strome College students to develop entrepreneurial solutions to two problems identified by community leaders. Before beginning the challenge part of the program, the students attended workshops on social entrepreneurship, community problem-solving, and design thinking. After completing the workshops, students were presented with three current community challenges - the teacher crisis, food insecurity, and reliable transportation - identified by community leaders from Newport News. Students worked under the mentorship of Enactus students to develop and pitch possible solutions to a panel of teachers and community leaders.
Throughout this program, I gained valuable insights into problems faced by our communities and developed leadership skills by mentoring high school students. I also developed design thinking and entrepreneurial skills, along with a 'can-do' mindset to address problems in their communities. The skills I acquired from this experience will help me in the future by allowing me to practice hands-on problem-solving and social entrepreneurship within my community.
Our Proposed Solution:
Tomorrow's Teachers
My group was tasked with finding a solution to address the teacher shortage crisis. My role was to help students use design thinking to fully uncover the problems regarding the teacher shortage. I also helped the students craft a solution that targeted the root of the teacher shortage and we communicated our proposed solution to community leaders through a 15-minute pitch presentation.