The Pinewood Scholars Program is a three-semester-long social entrepreneurship course that provides students with valuable experiences and skills, such as the confidence, work ethic, and passion needed to be an entrepreneur. These traits lay the groundwork for a future in business and beyond.
During the first year of PSP, which takes place during junior year, students conceptualize, refine, and launch projects aimed at addressing and solving problems in their communities.
Junior Kyle Ma was drawn to PSP by a desire to utilize his skills to help others.
“My biggest goal in life is to help those who are less fortunate than I am,” Ma said. “I applied to PSP because I wanted to make a difference in the world through my project.”
On the other hand, junior Caitlin Yamaguchi largely joined PSP because she wanted to learn more about what it takes to run a business.
As for their projects, Ma and Yamaguchi were both able to form their ideas around hobbies that they were passionate about: cooking and art, respectively.
“I picked art as the focus of my project because I’ve loved it since I was a kid,” Yamaguchi said. “However, art supplies can be expensive and not everyone has the money to buy them, and I wanted to address that issue.”
Inspired by her love of art, Yamaguchi has created two art supply distribution sites. Ma, on the other hand, offers free, weekly cooking lessons, which are open to anyone who is interested in learning how to cook.
Overall, both Ma and Yamaguchi are excited for the future of their projects and have already gained many skills from PSP.
“The class has been super helpful so far because it teaches me skills that you wouldn’t necessarily learn in other business classes, such as communicating with organizations and growing your connections,” Yamaguchi said.
In the second half of PSP, which takes place during the first semester of senior year, students reflect on their projects and explore the more nuanced aspects of entrepreneurship. Seniors Alakh Kapadia and Ruby Hannelly were among the seniors who finished PSP this year, and both believe that they benefited from the variety of topics that were covered in the senior semester, from learning about new business tactics to exploring how they could have improved their projects.
“PSP gave me a small taste of what entrepreneurship really means, and it taught me how to create a business from the ground up and how to run it,” Kapadia said.
In addition to projects and lessons, guest speakers and field trips are also vital parts of the PSP curriculum.
“Not often do you get to talk to someone who has real experience in entrepreneurship, so the guest speakers allowed us to gain a lot of valuable insight,” Hannelly said.
Aside from the structure of the course, Kapadia and Hannelly also appreciate what PSP stands for at its core.
“The number one idea that I took away from PSP is that it’s possible to get up and do something,” Kapadia said. “In the modern day, a lot of people will just repost something or agree with a statement and act like that’s enough. But actually taking action on an issue that you care about is powerful, and it has the ability to change our world.”
Pinewood English and history teacher Michelle Gannon runs the PSP class. Gannon’s favorite aspect of the course is its ability to make an impact on students.
“Everything that students learn in PSP gears them towards the next step that they choose to take,” Gannon said. “In the end, all of these skills will be applicable and important for their entire lives.”
