Walnut Hill: Business Boot Camp

Summer is drawing near and students ages 14 to 18 around Philadelphia have a chance to participate in a Business Boot Camp. This program started in 1998 and is an offset of the YES Program, Youth + Entrepreneurship = Success In-School and After-School Programs at The Enterprise Center in Walnut Hill. Unlike the In-School and After-School programs, the Business Boot Camp is available to everyone and not just the partnership schools.

The Business Boot Camp usually takes place in the second week of August. Each year, the program gets over a hundred students to participate in the intense five-day training. Some of the topics covered at camp are vision, networking, sales, technology, and giving back (social entrepreneurship).

Students attending camp are immersed in a full lineup of speakers, small group discussions, and business simulations. Speakers provide students with a real life experience and discussion of their own future. Groups of students get together and prepare presentations in response to the business leaders and lessons they learn throughout the camp experience.

This Business Boot Camp allows students to get in touch with what they might want to pursue in the future after high school or college. It helps students think about their life plan early on and helps them continue on the right track towards succeeding in life.

Lauren Gordon
Linda Lam
Group 18
Walnut Hill