Business 101
This summer senior Maya Scott took part in a week-long summer camp at Howard University which aimed at promoting and educating students in entrepreneurship skills.
PHOTO | Submitted by Maya Scott
Senior Maya Scott attended Howard University’s first year of their residential Entrepreneurship Enrichment Program this past summer.
Dressed in her best business casual, a black blazer with an angelic white blouse and sleek black slacks, senior Maya Scott presented her proposal: A non-profit in the Kansas City area focusing on educating and mentoring students in various fields of engineering while also targeting students from various backgrounds.
“Growing up in Kansas City and being interested in STEM and engineering, I’ve noticed that there is a lot of focus solely on computer science and computer engineering programs,” Scott said. “These programs don’t really target the other types of engineering like biomedical, mechanical or civil. It’s important to target these other types as well as targeting students who aren’t being included.”
This summer Scott participated in Howard University’s first year of their residential Entrepreneurship Enrichment Program. The historically black university invited students from across the country to spend one week at the campus growing in their business skills. In the country’s capital, Washington D.C., students learned from renowned business owners, CEOs and HU’s school of business professors.
“When I applied to this camp, I only had a small interest in entrepreneurship. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to be getting out of this program,” Scott said. “However, I’m really glad I went because it gave me the foundation. Just talking to professors and talking to people in the field, I figured out what I needed to do in order to get my business up.”
Despite Scott’s initial doubts about her entrepreneurship skills, leadership has always run deep within her character. Scott is a natural-born leader and a perfect fit for this program, according to senior Tehya Frederick.
“She’d be a really good entrepreneur,” Frederick said. “She knows what she wants—she will go and get it no matter the cost. She’s a leader.”
Scott earnestly believes that programs such as HU’s are a necessity in society. Approximately 80.2 percent of small business owners are white and 64.5 percent of entrepreneurs are men, according to the Kauffman Foundation’s state of entrepreneurship report. Historically black colleges and universities offer a solution to this disparity as they specialize in promoting black entrepreneurship through network organizations like the National HBCU Business Deans Roundtable. This is why Scott would prefer to attend an HBCU rather than a predominantly white institution.
While attending Howard University’s Entrepreneurship Enrichment Program, senior Maya Scott worked in a small group of four students to develop business plans. These plans were presented to HU’s school of business professors.
“They just have a lot of resources that I feel are essential to the black community,” Scott said. “Many predominantly white institutions aren’t catering to the needs of black people.”
From the skills Scott has built from her time in D.C., she has found an outlet to merge her greatest passions: engineering, activism and entrepreneurship. As she ventures into these passions, Scott feels she is fully equipped and capable to face the ever-changing business world ahead of her.
“She’s motivated,” senior Inaya Khan said. “She puts a lot of work and dedication into what she does and it shows. She’s passionate.”