Daniel Henderson is getting much more than a high school diploma from St. Michael's Catholic Academy (SMCA). This fall, he will enter Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with solid business experience under his belt and the distinction of having run a successful business.

During his junior year, Henderson was inspired to launch In The Flash, a twist on personal photography that offers paparazzi-style photos for parties and other events, while a student in the Introduction to Entrepreneurship class. He is also a member of the SMCA Entrepreneurship Club—an offshoot of St. Michael's Entrepreneurship Center for Economic and Social Innovation that gives students opportunities to work on real-life projects and build management, philanthropic and entrepreneurship skills.

Henderson and his classmates were mentored in developing their business plans and refining their business models by seasoned entrepreneurs such as Mike Haggerty, founder of Thundercloud Subs, and other speakers who participated in the class' weekly Speaker Series. That experience paid off—Henderson won the SMCA End-of-the-Semester Business Plan Competition and later won the Ernst & Young 2011 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Central Texas. Henderson is now the school's official photographer.

Launched in 2010, the SMCA Entrepreneurship Center brings in successful business leaders and speakers for discussion, mentoring and guidance. The program goes beyond the classroom to teach in-demand, real-world business competencies that will help students be relevant and socially responsible global citizens. The Center is giving students the practical tools of the future with two classes per semester, a club and a camp. It provides mentors, meet-and-greets with entrepreneurs, field trips, internships and job shadowing.

Haggerty, a St. Michael's board member for the last seven years and an early advocate for the Entrepreneurship Center, says its programs are the "wave of the future" for students today.

"This is just the beginning for them—helping them create successful businesses and find solutions to problems," he says. "This generation seems more engaged in that—they want to know about management issues and the interpersonal side of things‐how to deal with people. These are all important skills."

A program for the future
Susan Maher, Director of the Learning Center at St. Michael's and the Founding Director of the Entrepreneurship Center, says the genesis for the program started with groundbreaking research from Dr. Cindy Iannarelli, an entrepreneur and business professor who had been the first director of the Center for Family Business at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

"Her research centered on whether kids whose parents were entrepreneurs think differently—and it turned out that they do," explains Maher. "She found that, as kids live closer to the business side, they see the process at a higher level—and there's a transfer of knowledge that happens from simply interacting with an entrepreneur on a day-to-day basis."

Maher thought that experience could transfer to a program at St. Michael's, with entrepreneurs as guest speakers and students involved in writing business plans and running their own businesses. She put together a proposal with input from Henderson and other interested students and, in Spring 2010, the program was approved.

It kicked off with the Entrepreneurship Camp in summer 2010, and has since spawned the Introduction to Entrepreneurship I class for St. Michael's juniors and seniors, as well as the SMCA Entrepreneurship Club with guest speakers and other activities (see sidebar). The newest class, Entrepreneurship II, will launch in Fall 2012.

Nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit

As a small business advocate, longtime Austinite and successful entrepreneur, Haggerty was on board immediately. He has spent considerable time with the program—as a speaker, mentor, educator, financial supporter and business ally.

"More than 70 percent of people are employed by small businesses like Thundercloud—it's a huge driver of our economy," says Haggerty. "This was a chance to support that. The idea of the Center and the club definitely got me more engaged with St. Michael's."

In 2010, an average of 0.34 percent of the adult population, or 340 out of every 100,000 adults, created a new business each month, according to the Kauffmann Foundation. In fact, Foundation research found that the rate of new business creation outpaced new business developed by existing businesses for the second year in a row.

That's significant, and it offers a world of possibilities for students like Henderson whose entrepreneurial spirits are being nurtured and celebrated at an early age.

"We've talked to colleges about the program to gauge their interest in a student if he or she was involved in an entrepreneurial class," says Maher. "They've said yes—particularly if a student started a business from it as a result. These are in-demand skills to have."

Demand for hands-on experience
Both the club and class at St. Michael's give students the real-world experiences they need for success: opportunities to work on real-life projects that build proficiencies for college and expertise in marketing, management, philanthropy and entrepreneurship. Students are challenged to nurture an idea to life and get it into market successfully. The mentors, field trips and exercises train students in the nitty-gritty tasks of building networks, creating budgets, selling their products and dealing with objectives.

The goal is to foster skills development in a program that emphasizes social responsibility, creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and problem solving. The Pathways to Prosperity report, released in February 2011 from Harvard's Graduate School of Education, encourages a more holistic, practical approach to a high school education, calling it critical for the future because employers complain increasingly that "today's young adults are not equipped with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century workforce."

According to this report, proficiencies deemed most important for high school graduates include oral and written communication, critical thinking and professionalism. Similarly, a report from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, whose members include companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Cisco and Pearson, calls for "more focus on the development of critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and communication." Given the scope of experiences and exposure that students are given in their entrepreneurship training, they are able to demonstrate mastery of these skills and also see themselves as agents of societal change.

Mentoring for the future
The mentoring relationship is the focus for many SMCA Entrepreneurship Class speakers, including Haggerty. In fact, his personal educational experience has largely driven his passion for the program.

"I went to a great school and had a very traditional, European-style education, but there wasn't a lot of critical thinking or imagination," he says. "I love small business and the idea of creating a company based on a novel concept. If I'd been exposed to these possibilities at an earlier age, I think I would have had more opportunities."

Haggerty says kids today need to understand the concept of critical thinking—of looking at the big picture to solve problems—and the importance of what they're learning in school and how that translates to the real world. That's the kind of mentoring he offers to the students at St. Michael's.

"Unless you have that critical thinking aspect, you won’t push yourself. It allows kids to stretch into areas they wouldn't otherwise," he explains. "Kids pitch ideas at SMCA, and it gives me an opportunity to talk about the business, give advice and answer their questions."

"For us, it's about building content around the relationship with the entrepreneur, so kids can learn these skills from the experts," says Maher. "The idea is that we can simulate that mentor-like relationship in the classroom."

Henderson is just one example of the power of mentorship, saying that he's developed skills from the experience that he wouldn't have otherwise. For example, learning how to network with adults, give the perfect handshake, and send thank you notes within 24 hour when appropriate. Those are the kind of activities that aren't always taught in the classroom that will have far-reaching impact on his future career and life.

"A lot of entrepreneurs told us not to be afraid to fail, that it's part of the process," he says. "And that if you have passion, it's easy to do what you want. Those were two big lessons for me."