Going into the CEO program I had skills and ideas but not the entrepreneurial mindset needed to make much use out of them. During my time in the program I learned how to advance my pre-existing skills while also getting new skills, ones more meant for the business world, such as networking and pitching. Now I leave the program with experience, an entrepreneurial mindset, and a business that I can call my own.

I have enjoyed the CEO program and all that it has to offer, and I am pretty confident when I say that it is one of the classes that I will often use beyond high school. The business visits and guest speakers offered a fun way of networking while also allowing us young entrepreneurs to see how businesses got off of the ground. The badge business, class business, and personal businesses were some of the most memorable parts about the program and some of the most enjoyable. The first two businesses taught us how to work as a team, using everyone’s unique skill set and ideas to make the business as profitable as possible, while the personal businesses taught us to use those skills that we learned to make a profitable business. First session’s class business was a very surprising success, and giving the right time and better use of resources could have been better yet. Our 5K did really well, having over 150 runners, thanks to the efforts of Lilli Roberson. For my personal business I wanted to make something that I would not be able to easily make or do outside of the CEO program. I wanted it to be unique and fun and I wanted to be proud of what I had created so I decided to publish a card game that I had made. I had a handful of challenges that I made while creating and publishing a card game, one of which was money. I had to put in some of my own money because the money that the CEO gave me did not cover all of the expenses, which I was more than willing to do because I believed in the product that I was making.

The CEO program has impacted me by teaching me how to have an entrepreneurial mindset and how to properly adapt those entrepreneurial skills and mindset into reality and action.