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UPenn Social Innovators Program

Wilmington Friends School has partnered with the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Social Impact Strategy and Schoolyard Ventures, an organization that develops university-level, real-world learning opportunities for high school students, to offer the Social Innovators Program to upper schoolers.

#WFSbeyondtheclassroom
As one of only two dozen schools worldwide invited to participate, this 12-week virtual program allowed 10th and 11th grade WFS students to learn more about social entrepreneurship and earn a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania.

During this 12-week virtual course, WFS students attended small online classes, learned from engaging interviews and case studies with young entrepreneurs, and participated in class live classroom discussions with members of the Schoolyard Ventures staff. Students were then tasked with launching their own venture, identifying a problem that was meaningful to them, and trying to solve this issue for their target market. With support from the Schoolyard Ventures staff, students developed a solution to their problem, detailed their process, and came up with a value proposition. Finally, students presented their findings, discussing what they learned from their project, how they might plan to scale it, and what they learned about themselves throughout it.

 “We know about the types of 21st Century Skills that current students should be acquiring before heading out into the “real world”; often referred to as the four C’s, creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration,” stated Assistant Head of School for Academics Eddie Gallagher. “When we first researched this program and began our partnership with Schoolyard Ventures, we knew these skills would be embedded in our students’ experiences, along with the importance of teaching students how to lean into their own discomfort, stretching their thinking and innovative problem solving skills, and the importance of building perseverance. This program allowed our students to use all of these skills to embark into solving real-world problems that would translate directly into their own academic pursuits, and possibly even their future career and lifelong ambitions.”

The WFS students who participated learned valuable lessons along the way. Reflecting on his experience creating “Blind Strides,” Carter Fenimore states, “This project pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to do things I normally wouldn’t have.” One of these things that Carter tried for the first time was cold-calling and cold-emailing people. And while sometimes they did not pick up the phone or answer his email, Carter notes, “That exposure to rejection has helped me grow as a person and helped drive the project further than ever expected.” Tripp Young, who created an awareness brand called “Safe2Style” for lacrosse players, began to understand that failure is a part of the entrepreneurial process. He noted, “In this program, I learned to accept failure but not let that failure fail me. I learned that part of the overarching learning process is to keep pursuing something… and don’t let immediate failure get in your way.” 
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Carter Fenimore ’25: Carter’s project, “Blind Strides,” is centered around giving more accessibility and normalcy to blind people. Carter helped create a personal workout routine that works within their blindness.  


Josh Fung ’26: Josh created a preoperative total joint replacement (TJR) screener targeting patient-initiated cancellation. This TJR screener gives patients scores/ratings based on how likely they are to cancel their surgeries. 


Sanda Iancic ’26: Sandra wanted to help students who are interested in the medical field plan their future. Her project, “AI College Guidance,” allows students to use AI and input key details about their future aspirations. After doing this, they receive a detailed description of the necessary steps one must take in order to accomplish their goals. 


Ava Kolodczak ’26: Ava’s project, “College Help,” is designed to help high school juniors navigate key and challenging aspects of the college application process. Ava helped students narrow down programs and colleges that meet their needs, ultimately helping them evaluate what they want to go to college for. 


Cora Lohkamp ’26: Cora’s project, “Wild Kids in the Wildlife,” is focused on helping teens take action against climate change. Focusing on recycling, reusing, and reducing, Cora helped teenagers understand that there are many small and low cost every day efforts that they can do each day to help the environment.


Temi Lufadeju ’25:  Based on her own interest in talking with teens her age who are going through similar situations, Temi's Project, “Matchmaker,” is a peer-to-peer service that brings young people together, allowing them to share their experiences with one another.


Piper Roskovensky ’26: Piper’s project, “Connecting with Careers,” focused on helping high school students learn about different careers through interviews with people in various professions. These conversations share personal stories and advice from WFS alumni. 


Nife Shoyinka ’25: Nife created Historyclub.exe, a space designed for students who are interested in history to express and explore their interests outside of class. Historyclub.exe is a place where students can explore all types of history and bounce ideas off of one another in a more free and unstructured setting. 


Lauren Toner ’25: Lauren’s project, “Unlock Your Learning,” focused on helping students with different learning challenges gain access to additional resources so that they can more effectively advocate for themselves. 

YouTube presentation link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV30TmKRA9w 

Tripp Young ’25: Tripp’s project recognized that athletes care about how they look while they play sports. His project, an awareness brand called “Safe2Style,”focused on helping lacrosse players decrease the chance of injury, while also maintaining a sense of style.

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