Entrepreneurial Spirit
I’m just back from a few days in San Francisco visiting BUA alums. The visit bolstered an impression I’ve been forming over the years: entrepreneurs and innovators are overrepresented in our alumni community. At first, this felt surprising, particularly for an East Coast school without a business focus and whose curriculum is proudly and intentionally rooted in the classical tradition. But on quick second thought, it makes sense. The students who choose BUA tend to come to us with an independent streak and accelerate down that path because of their experience here: the commute on public transportation; exploring the city with friends after school; choosing and navigating BU classes; developing and executing a senior thesis. Many of them not only lead but also start new clubs (some of which take off, some of which don’t), which is something we encourage and is likely the reason why we have 50+ clubs for 225 students! Many of them get some insight into cutting edge research and ideas through their BU classes and lab experiences. Putting that all together, we graduate students with the pieces successful entrepreneurs and innovators need.
We think there is an opportunity to be even more intentional, given what we have learned. For students eager to explore these topics in a more structured, focused way, we are launching a new 11th grade Entrepreneurship & Innovation Seminar next year, which will run alongside two other long-standing seminars in STEM and the humanities. Students in the new seminar will visit – virtually and in person – entrepreneurs and innovators (mainly BUA alums and parents) to hear about their journeys and glean lessons; dive into case studies and some of the academic literature from the field; tap into resources at BU’s Questrom School of Business; and begin developing their own ideas in an incubator-style environment. Who knows? Maybe the next big thing will come from 1 University Road.