CORRECTION: This article was released on May 9th with the following quotation attributed to Ms. Naughton, ““Next year, not only will students earn high school credit and three college credits, they will also earn a half credit for Senior Project, meeting the requirement for graduation.” The Chieftain would like to apologize for the misquotation. Ms. Naughton originally said, “students can earn college credit and 1/2 Senior Project credit [in the class].  Not all students will qualify for the college credits or senior project [credit].” Dr. Willmore explained further, “students may ’embed’ their Senior Project into one of their classes, including Entrepreneurship, by using the content of the course to contribute to the project.  However, students will still be expected to satisfy all elements of the Senior Project.  Any student with questions should see Ms. Labella.”

Sorry for any confusion, #warriornation! The article is below, with the misquotation removed. 

Entrepreneurship is a class that every student in Wakefield should take; where else can you make money and build business relationships with established professionals?

During my sophomore year, I was placed into the Entrepreneurship class without a choice. I didn’t want to attend, but after a few weeks in that class, I took to it. The combination of an enthusiastic teacher, Ms. Naughton, and the three sponsors of the class

inspired me to excel in the class. “Every year for the past four years, Wakefield has had a student make it to the D.C. regional finals. My students win a lot of money”, Ms. Naughton said with a smile from ear to ear. Entrepreneurship is one of the most underrated classes here at Wakefield.

“Personally, I believe entrepreneurship is the best class in Arlington County” said Ms. Naughton. “Students can earn college credit and 1/2 Senior Project credit [in the class].  Not all students will qualify for the college credits or senior project [credit].”

Outside room C-114, also known as Entrepreneurship headquarters, you can see several pictures, gift cards, and even a check the size of a small child. The pictures show all the fun activities entrepreneurship students take part in. Every year, they take a field trip to New York City and receive money to buy supplies in order to start their own business. They also get the opportunity to attend a gala event (which is another word for a very fancy party) where they have the opportunity to sell their products and services with the potential to make a lot of profit.

You have many opportunities to earn real money through the class. The first chance is during entrepreneurship Tuesdays, where students sell their own product after school. Secondly, through the pitch competition; during this competition students must come up with a pitch for their product and present it in front of a panel of judges. The third opportunity to cash in some money is at the Coup de Gras (the business plan competition) where you can formulate a business plan and present it. It’s a long process which begins in the “in-class” competition. After the class competition the next qualifying level is the regional competition then the national level. If you win the in class competition, you win money, if you just move on to the regional competition, you get money, and if you win either of the next two levels of competition, you get even more money.

Through my sales and the classroom, I made around $1,000, including competitions. I kept EVERY cent of it. I also passed the class, so of course, I got the college credit.

This class is one that nobody should skip; everyone needs to realize it’s relevance to their future. You could very well start your own business and go on to be successful using just the connections and information that you gain from taking the Entrepreneurship class.