The Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship and the Office of Stern Life recently welcomed 5th grade students from P.S. 125 Ralph Bunche School in Harlem to NYU Stern for an experiential learning visit!
The students began their day with an introduction to college from members of the Street Team — an initiative led by Anne Brown, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications — including Gabriel Ospina (BS ’26), Wendy Benitez Jaramillo (BS ’26), and Jackson Chen (BS ’28). The Street Team then led the students on a tour of Stern, showing them classrooms and study spaces while answering questions about majors, courses, study abroad opportunities, and NYU athletics.
Following the tour, the students participated in a Young Entrepreneurs Workshop led by Shay Gaskins, Associate Director at the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship. The workshop introduced students to the fundamentals of business, including the three core elements that successful businesses share: identifying a customer, offering a product or service, and creating a benefit or value for that customer. Through interactive examples, students explored how real businesses identify and solve problems.
Students were then challenged to apply what they had learned by developing their own fundraising ideas for their upcoming end-of-year graduation activities. Working in teams, they designed business concepts and pitched their ideas to the group. Each team was supported by a facilitator from Stern or by teachers from P.S. 125. Stern facilitators included Steph Shyu, Associate Director at the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship; Fallon Lucombe, Senior Director in the Office of Stern Life; Mary Oliver, Administrative Aide at the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship; and Veer Desai (BS ’28), an intern at the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship.
Following the presentations, Cynthia Franklin, Executive Director of the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship, selected the winning concept that the class will move forward with as they raise funds for their graduation celebration.
The visit concluded with a lunchtime conversation with Dr. Victor Mullins, Senior Associate Dean in the Office of Stern Life. During the discussion, Dr. Mullins reflected on the lessons students learned throughout the day and introduced them to several college access opportunities available to New York City students.
This initiative would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of several Stern teams, including the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship, the Office of Stern Life, and the Marketing & Communications team.
