When your students go forth without fear… amazing things happen.

Yesterday evening I attended a speaking engagement called She Did That.  It was an amazing event with three very driven, engaging, professional women.  All three women shared their journey in business and in life. They spoke of sexism, professional drive, taking risks, and much more.  It was a great event that my wife and ten year old daughter also attended.

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Here’s the kicker… it was created, organized and hosted by a 17 and 18 year old.

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Two of my previous business students who have done some pretty amazing things throughout the year, topped their year off by running the event.  I have know these two students for many years as they have been in and around the OPRF School of Business regularly. If me or and of the teaching team needed anything done or wanted student involvement, these two young ladies stepped up.  Did they do everything without fault or error… no. They did and still do everything without the fear of failing though. Doing things without that fear is a tough thing for anyone let alone a 17 and 18 year old. These ladies somehow found the drive and heart to not worry about things going wrong.

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Back to the event… as I sat next to my 10 year old daughter, I imagined her as a teen being a leader.  I imagined what this event will look like in 5 years. I imagined how it would grow from one event to possibly 2 or 3 per year bringing professional women together with young ladies to share stories and build success with each other.  I imagined my daughter being a part of that. What these two young ladies did by putting that event together goes beyond the event itself. There were several other young girls there who saw this happen. They have seen their peers step forward and make something happen.  They are likely to be a little less afraid of failing because of it. That is what teaching is all about. I live for these moments when I see young people take the risk without me or any other adult telling them to do it, and they do it.

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When our students go forth without fear… amazing things happen.  It's called authentic learning

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#disrupteducation