Many college degrees can land you a job, but nothing gives you the power to control your own destiny quite like a little entrepreneurial spirit and know-how. That’s the motivation behind Visitation Academy’s new Ellen Thomasson Malecek Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, a group of classes designed to give students the tools they need to start their own businesses. “This program is a long-term investment that will be fluid and responsive to the business world’s changing needs,” says head of school Rosalie Henry. “We want our girls to be prepared to enter the global market.”
The program, which debuted this school year, was founded after the 2012 death of ’89 Visitation alumna Ellen Malecek, who co-owned Paradigm Media Group, a local interactive media agency. “The school was close to her heart,” Henry says. “She passed away too early, but we are grateful to Ellen’s classmates, friends and family because they raised funds for this program to honor her memory and entrepreneurial spirit.”
The program’s classes, all electives, include graphic design, communication design, gaming and web design, and persuasive writing. So far, students have been enthusiastic; the writing course, which delves into elements of persuasion in a variety of media, has been particularly popular, Henry says. In the graphic and communication design courses, also popular, students will learn to work with Adobe software. And in the gaming and web design classes, students will build games and learn how websites are created.
Each class is project-based, with the goal of inspiring students to “catch Ellen’s entrepreneurial spirit and creativity,” Henry says. Students enrolled in the classes will get real, hands-on business experience. In the communication design course, for example, they will have an opportunity to collaborate on and create branding materials for a corporate client. “Several of our alums have already expressed interest and have offered to be test clients,” Henry says. In addition, some area businesses also have offered internships, says Molly Bryant, who teaches the program’s graphic and communication design courses.
And Visitation isn’t guessing which skills will be useful—the school consulted with colleges and business leaders. “I’ve talked to people in the community about what these girls need to know in order to be successful in college and beyond,” Bryant says.
To prepare for the classes, Visitation renovated a double-length room to house the latest technology and allow space for collaboration, Henry explains. “The classroom has 15 iMac computers, one MacBook Pro and two smartboards, as well as graphic design software and a color printer,” she notes. “We have a basic color theme throughout this school, but we made this room pop to encourage creativity.”
All the effort is geared toward one thing: giving Visitation students the tools to succeed in the world that will greet them after graduation. “It’s making them think about their future and making them aware of what they can do in the business industry,” Bryant says. “They come to class excited, and they learn something new every day. To have this background means you can create your own business, and you have the power to mold your own career.”
[Visitation Academy is an independent, Catholic school offering a coeducational Montessori program for toddlers through kindergarten and an all-girls environment in grades one through 12. It hosts an all-school open house noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 8. For more information, call 314.625.9100 or visit visitationacademy.org.]
Photos courtesy of Visitation Academy
Cover design courtesy of Visitation Academy
