Summer day camp at SC State plants seeds for innovation in middle school students
The Bulldog Building Independence Through Education (Bulldog B.I.T.E.) camp empowered middle school students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Innovation occasionally happens by accident, but it usually results from knowledge, experience, resilience and determination.
Last summer, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub in South Carolina State University’s College of Business and Information Systems (CBIS) helped pave that path for 20 students from area middle schools in a two-week day camp. The goal of the Bulldog Building Independence through Education (Bulldog B.I.T.E.) camp was for the students to hone their entrepreneurial mindset at an early age.
“Education is a lifelong process, and we want to encourage lifelong learners,” said Zachary Thomas, program director. “Providing students with additional skills will help them further their education, make them more marketable and open the door to trades that can benefit them in the future.”
The June 10-21 camp was organized for the middle schoolers to dig into such vital life skills home economics, writing, gardening, culinary arts, gastronomy, carpentry and financial literacy. Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts were also explored, and they were introduced to the automotive and digital marketing worlds. Camp counselors injected elements of physical exercise and fun into the learning experience.
“It’s been interesting,” said Kimya Hamilton, a seventh grader at Orangeburg County’s Clark Middle School who had her sights set on being both an artist and scientist one day. “We are planting and learning new things – different things we didn’t know. It’s just amazing because we are learning how to do things like how to grow our own food.”
According to the camp’s organizers, developing an entrepreneurial mindset is not only about preparing someone to become business owners in the future. It’s also about teaching them life skills like confidence, persistence, resilience, and the ability to bounce back from failures.
Bulldog B.I.T.E was an outgrowth of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub’s SEED (Students Engaged in Entrepreneurial Development) program for undergraduate students during the Spring Semester. SEED students engaged in weekly sessions on various topics related to entrepreneurship and were tasked with developing an idea for a potential business.
The undergraduates engaged in such creative thinking techniques as star bursting, a systematic brainstorming method that focuses on asking questions rather than immediately seeking answers to assess new ideas. They also participated in SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat) analysis and market and needs analysis, while exploring intellectual property rights and product development.
The process was intended to build a business concept. The undergraduates’ idea for business development was a B.I.T.E. Afterschool Program for ages 10-14. The summer camp was developed to refine the model and validate the concept.
“It’s good experience working with kids over the summer,” said Beatty, an SC State sophomore from Atlanta, Georgia. “I am working on my leadership skills and my teamwork skills with my peers who I am working with and with Mr. Thomas.
“I’m having a lot of fun, too. Kids are fun to work with. Leadership is also fun to me, so this has been great,” Beatty said.
Day 1 at Bulldog B.I.T.E. was about building self-esteem and self-confidence. Christian Jackson, director of SC State’s Counseling and Self-Development Center, engaged the middle schoolers in discussions about the basics of good mental health, how to deal with stress and anger, how to build relationships and how to navigate through life during developmental years.
In the following days, the middle schoolers learned about various trades including small engine repair from Mike Pulley’s Small Engine Shop; culinary arts from Zachary Middleton, manager at the Huddle House; gardening at the Orangeburg Regional Innovation Center; and farming from John Hill’s family farm. Each day was also infused with games, exercise and movies.
“We hope the B.I.T.E. Afterschool Program can be implemented in the spring,” Thomas said. “This would be a direct impact to the Orangeburg community and contribute towards the societal impact strategic goal of the College of Business and Information Systems.”
The SEED and Bulldog B.I.T.E. programs were funded through the PNC/Howard University entrepreneurship award received by SC State’s Institute for Business, Environment, Communications and Transportation.