For more than two decades, Goizueta Business School and 21st Century Leaders have teamed up to inspire Georgia high school students from diverse backgrounds to develop leadership skills and explore career opportunities. With the help of businesses and community partnerships, they’ve staged summer programs and pitch days to give teenagers a taste of the business sector. An innovative online program called Leadership Connect—designed with the help of interns and faculty from Goizueta—contains the curriculum that carries the students from novice to knowledgeable.
Now, those same students are treated to new features of the program: the launch of level four, and a special leadership certificate.
In this newest level, cohorts of high school students are paired with two current or former MBA students. The cohort designs a business over the span of seven months, and the level culminates in a pitch day—and a leadership certificate.
“We’re in the business of developing future leaders, whether that’s at Goizueta or 21st Century Leaders. We’re all about creating the workforce of the future, so it was a natural extension of what we do as a business school,” explains Brian Goebel, managing director of Goizueta’s Business & Society Institute. “We both believe in developing principled business leaders. We both believe in service, education, opportunity, and access.”
Diving into Level Four
Leadership Connect is a gamified, self-paced program where students can earn rewards while learning 21st Century Leaders’ seven core leadership competencies in 170-plus modules. The online content allows students from across the state—regardless of their transportation abilities or local offerings—to take advantage of this program. In a state where nearly half of high school students don’t have any career-readiness training, a program like Leadership Connect is a treasure.
In levels one through three, students learn how to communicate effectively, build effective teams, and what social and emotional intelligence entails. Modules cover civic engagement, financial literacy, and even health and wellness.
The first cohort of level four was made up of 28 students from across Georgia. The culminating leadership certificate is the only program of its kind in the country—and the very first high-school-level certificate Goizueta has ever offered.
The goal of this level is to generate a social enterprise business idea rooted in market research with clear benefits for people and/or the planet. Goizueta’s General Ken Keen played a significant role in the creation of the level’s curriculum, ensuring it was as rigorous as needed to warrant a certificate at the end. Goizueta’s faculty also recorded videos to introduce new lessons, such as marketing, visions and goals, and budgeting.
“It’s important to remind people that there is no age requirement on leadership,” says Kate Hewitt, executive director of 21st Century Leaders. “Sometimes our most innovative and impactful leaders are our young people, so it’s critical to give them the platform to share their ideas, their experiences, and what’s important to them. They really are going to change the world and create a better future for us all.”
The Mentorship Experience
As part of the level four experience, small groups of high school students were paired with both current MBA students and alumni. The high school students still had modules to complete, including creating a budget and filming an elevator pitch, but the goal of the monthly online meetings was for the students to build their business, using their mentors for guidance on the business-related topics and questions.
For Taylor Green 21MBA, being a mentor for 21st Century Leaders was a full-circle moment. Green participated in a 21st Century Leaders program the summer before her senior year of high school. The experience helped her realize the career path she thought she wanted in media wasn’t the one for her.
In college, she joined the Freshman Leadership Academy and ran for student council. In graduate school, as part of Goizueta’s One-Year MBA program, she served as class president.
“I don’t think I would have pursued those opportunities had I not had the 21st Century Leaders experience,” reflects Green.
Now, as senior innovation and engagement lead for Amazon Web Services, she seeks any opportunity to give back to the organization.
“Growing up, my parents were always emphasizing the importance of lifting as you climb,” says Green.
Her favorite part of the experience was watching the students grow over time, watching them work together as a team, and ultimately, gain the confidence to present their idea to a roomful of people.
For mentor Tom Moak 25MBA, engaging with high school students was like riding a bicycle, the former history teacher, administrator, and football coach joked. During his time as a Two-Year MBA student, Moak was a Business & Society fellow. He even approached Goebel last summer, seeking service work with younger people given his decade-long background in education. A few weeks later, as part of the onboarding for being a Delta Leadership Coaching fellow, Moak learned about 21st Century Leaders’ need for mentors.
“I’d always been a teacher, so having to evaluate, but being along for the ride and getting to observe, instead of putting a grade on it, I got to learn from the experience,” says Moak.
As an teacher and administrator, Moak learned authoritative leadership. As an MBA student and coaching fellow, he learned peer leadership. Through this experience with 21st Century Leaders, Moak learned how to navigate soft leadership skills—gently guiding people through a decision.
In the MBA, you’re always amongst peer groups doing work, so you learn how to navigate that team environment. This experience was helpful because you had to navigate a position of perceived authority and responsibility, and it’s not your job to do the work.
Tom Moak 25MBA
While the mentors provided structure and questions, the work was in the hands of the students.
“Everybody underestimates teenagers, but they always over-perform what you think they’re going to do,” says Moak, who will join Boston Consulting Group this summer.
In fact, Moak’s team won the pitch day competition.
Pitch Day
In April, the groups of students gathered at Goizueta to present their business ideas to a panel of judges. The judges were a mix of Goizueta faculty, corporate partners, Goizueta alumni, local businesses and entrepreneurs, and community members.
The teams had about 10 minutes to pitch their business. Ideas included an app to encourage younger generations to thrift and the winning idea of an app to help lower-income families catch errors on their health insurance bills.
Josie Herren, a rising senior from Berrien County High School, was a member of the winning team, which received $2,000.
“My mentors were like my cohort’s cheerleaders,” says Herren. “Leadership Connect has inspired me to learn how to get out of my comfort zone and to pursue any opportunities I get.”
As part of their exit from the program, students were asked to complete a quick survey for 21st Century Leaders. 100% of students said their confidence as leaders increased; they felt more equipped to start or grow a business; and they felt more prepared to enter the workforce.
Yasmin Rios’ favorite part of the experience was the connections made with fellow peers and her mentors. The rising senior from Swainsboro High School says, “The MBA students helped me understand the process of entrepreneurship in a hands-on way, and their mentorship gave me a clearer vision of the ambitions I might pursue in the future.”
