Students in Annie Wright Upper School Girls' Business & Entrepreneurship Program, now in its second year, are engaging locally and nationally to learn from the experts and hone their skills.

Earlier this month, GBEP students spent the day at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, where they learned about approaches to community partnerships, global health, cyber security, program management, business design & operations, legal issues, and more.

"These trips give the girls an understanding of business holistically," said GBEP Director Sandra Bush. "Exposure to both the business side and project side gives the girls a sense of the varying types of roles and how to support the business. They also gain exposure to successful women."

 
The Gates Foundation visit is the first of several trips to businesses in the Seattle area. Students will visit Amazon in December, and plans are in the works to visit Microsoft and Russell Investments early next year, followed by visits to several companies in San Francisco in the spring.

Meeting with senior executives exposes the girls to a range of roles and career paths. "Students learn there is no direct path to an outcome," said Bush. "People we meet have incredibly varying paths. The girls begin to learn that they can use their skills for many things. There is also likely to be at least one person with whom they really connect"

 

The program also connects students to local small businesses in Tacoma and offers opportunities for group and individual projects. The Social Impact & Entrepreneurship class, for example, has just started a micro-consulting project in inventory and marketing strategy for a small business owner through the Readiness Acceleration and Innovation Network (RAIN) incubator downtown.

The Girls' Business & Entrepreneurship Program comprises three business courses and a business mentorship program. Inside and outside of the classroom, GBEP helps students delve deeper into their passions as they explore the many facets of business, including entrepreneurship, human resources, personal and organizational finance, marketing, operations and business strategy. Learn more.