Virtual After-School Business & Leadership Academy Builds Daughters’ Confidence, College Resume, and More

Alyssa, 16, went from student to becoming a CEO through the Girls With Impact program, from the comfort of home,

While many parents feel their teens have faced a lost year, others are getting a leg-up for college, increasing their confidence, and tapping into their passions by creating their own businesses. In an effort to help working families during COVID and beyond, a global consulting firm partnered with Girls With Impact to offer its 10-week after-school Business & Leadership Academy program where teens can become a CEO from the comfort of their homes.

Ava St Thomas, Assistant Director of the Americas Tax Talent Team, was among the parents who enrolled her daughter in Girls With Impact, a live, online mini-MBA for girls.

Alyssa, 16, was about to start her junior year of high school. “I wanted her to get some experience on how to conduct business, women in the workforce, and building leadership skills,” says Ava.

Alyssa says she always had a creative bent.  The most impactful part of the Girls With Impact program, she says, was “expanding her creativity” and learning “the process from start to finish” to create a venture. 

Girls With Impact – offered year-round and over the Summer – takes girls 12-21 through the steps to build a business venture, from problem solving, design thinking and value proposition to marketing and finances. The students graduate with a business plan and venture pitch in hand as well as a new sense of confidence and professional skills.

Alyssa’s venture, called “Percentage,” aims to measure people’s happiness levels.

Mom Ava says that, like a lot of teens, Alyssa has had ideas in her head but had no way to bring them to life. 

“The program was absolutely awesome,” says Ava.  “First, it looks very good on a college resume. Also, as she’s entering college, she now has a skill set that can help her transition to college – whether it’s working on papers or figuring how to approach a project.”

Perhaps the best part: “She’s happy and already taking it to another level.”

Registrations for the five-week Summer “intensive” Academy are now open and features two one-hour classes each week, taught by a business instructor. Register here.