Girls Summer Entrepreneurship Program

Dana Hall’s Girls Summer Entrepreneurship Program (GSEP) offers first-hand experience in the evolving world of business for women in the 21st century. Through our program, we seek to build business acumen, as well as foster confidence, perseverance, leadership and creativity in each of our participants.

Under the instruction and mentorship of business educators and professionals, the GSEP curriculum engages participants as they learn and work collaboratively to: develop and present a business plan; gain exposure to the process for developing product and service concepts; learn financial and marketing basics, and strengthen their problem-solving and innovation skills.

The young women in our program will enter college and the work world with the advantage of having exposure to business skills, as well as a unique understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing female entrepreneurs today.

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Program
Students will work in teams in the development of a business or product idea. They will learn about entrepreneurship by “being the entrepreneur” and applying tools and techniques learned in seminars to develop their own ideas. The program will culminate in the teams pitching their business plans to potential investors in a business plan contest: “The Dragon’s Lair.”
Key program objectives include:
KEY PROGRAM OBJECTIVES INCLUDE:
- Understanding the relationship between successful innovations and consumer value
- Acquiring real entrepreneurial experience in pitching a concept to potential investors
- Gaining exposure to marketing research
- Developing a detailed business plan
- Engaging with leading industry executives
Faculty

Amy Whittaker, Program Director
Amy Whittaker is the Managing Director of Bentley University’s Hughey Center for Financial Services. She also serves as the Executive Director of Bentley’s Wall Street 101 Program, which provides high school students with first-hand experience in the world of finance, research analytics, entrepreneurship, investments and leadership. Prior to joining Bentley, Amy spent 20 years at State Street Corporation.

Michele Gerdes, Program Coordinator
Michele Gerdes has spent 20 of her 32-year teaching career at Dana Hall. She has taught
students in 6th through 12th grades in both mathematics and science.

DATES:

Monday, June 15 – Saturday, June 20, 2019

This is a non-residential program running from approximately 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily, with a half-day on the final day of the program.

PARTICIPANTS:
Open to Dana Hall students who will be juniors or seniors in Fall 2019.

LOCATION:
Dana Hall School

TUITION:
$1,000
Includes all activities and transportation costs during the program.

APPLICATION:
Applicants will be asked to provide a Personal Statement.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:
April 16, 2020

For application materials, go to your grade’s Schoology page. Please contact Program Coordinator Michele Gerdes with specific program questions and financial aid inquiries.

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Dance

Favorite Activity
Poetry project

Favorite Assignment
Spanish III Honors

Favorite Class

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Francesca

"In my Literature Composition I class we did a poetry unit before winter break. Our poetry project was in collaboration with a school in Turkey. We created our own websites to display our works of poetry. The last day of school before winter break we were able to Skype with the kids from the school in Turkey, and it was so much fun to interact with students who were so far away. We were able to learn what their school was like, and how their classes worked."

-Francesca