Diana Drake, managing editor of Knowledge@Wharton High School, spoke to BrainGain Magazine about the Global Young Leaders’ Academy’s summer programs, the importance of entrepreneurship, and of being a well-rounded student.

This is the second of a two-part interaction. You can read the first one here.

• Q: 3 ways in which the Global Young Leaders’ Academy fosters leadership.
•  
• A: The first and foremost would be this concept of stepping outside your comfort zone. I've always heard throughout my life that if something makes you feel nervous and get those butterflies inside, it is worth doing. And just by looking around the room that first day when I see those students, [I can tell] that a lot of them have those butterflies. They're thinking, ‘What have I done? I've come so far away from home, and here I am in this foreign place.’ But, you know, then they start to blossom because what happens is when [they] step outside of something they're familiar with, they grow.  That's the first way that GYLA fosters leadership.
•  
• The second way is teamwork. Leadership is a teamwork skill and that's an   important thing about GYLA. [Students are] working in teams to build entrepreneurial ideas, they're working in teams to build finance ideas, and in doing so, they're able to collaborate and communicate with other students. And the best     outcomes usually come from a teamwork type of experience. So, that ability to work in a team, and work with people that [are different] and don't have the same perspective, is very enriching from a leadership perspective.
•  
• And finally, I would say that opening their minds to the ideas of others is critical. If you want to be a strong leader, you cannot try to force your ideas on others, but what you need to do is listen and be open-minded. And it's not necessarily a skill that a lot of teenagers have. They're used to trying to quickly express their opinion and do it in a forceful way. But what this program teaches them is to sit back, and listen to the ideas of others, and understand all those different perspectives.
•  
• This fuels their ability to make better decisions as leaders because they're getting so many different ideas and perspectives from people from different cultures, from people who have different interests.
•  
•  
• Q: 3 things students should do in school other than studying?
   
• A: This is a great question because I think we get so caught up in the test-scores and the grades that we lose sight of the fact that we need to be well-rounded students, and we need to be well-rounded to be happy.
•  
• So, one thing I would promote is this idea of creating something. It doesn't necessarily have to be a business, it doesn't have to be a non-profit, or a big thing. Just to have a project that you create, and that you put some innovative, creative energy into, will help you to develop. It will help you to focus on something that you're passionate about, but at the same time, it will allow you to go through the critical thinking steps that will help you to build something from the ground up.
•  
• I knew a student who didn't start a company but created a website. She had a passion for photography, and she created a website where she took photos of dilapidated buildings and wrote poetry. She was inspired by these weed-choked, vine-covered buildings that we would see in the cities. And so, she would take pictures and write poetry. It wasn't for anybody. It wasn't to make any money. It was just for her.
•  
• So, I would promote that project-based learning idea. Not one that your teachers are giving you but one that you are building yourself. Other things that I would do would be the Global Young Leaders Academy, or even the investment competition we offer through Knowledge@Wharton High School.
•  
• These are opportunities to apply the knowledge that you're getting in the classroom, on the tests and assignments, and put them to practical use. It gives you a chance to experience your learning, and to know how it's helping you to grow. I would encourage students to find those opportunities so that they can apply and have some fun with the learning that they're getting in the classroom.
   
•  
• Q: Is there advice you'd like to give students about the changing world of work?
•  
• A: The advice that I would have for students about the changing world of work is this concept of entrepreneurship. It is one that is near and dear to our hearts at Knowledge@Wharton High School in many ways.
•  
• Of course, our Global Young Leaders Academy has one whole module, and several sessions, that focus on entrepreneurship. And there's a reason for that. I think when people hear that concept they think, “Oh that means I'm going to start a business, I'm going to be an entrepreneur, I'm going to build a business.” Well, it’s more than that, you know?
•  
• Entrepreneurship has to do with entrepreneurial thinking. It has to do with being innovative, nimble, being able to turn quickly with your ideas, having grit-- that's a very important entrepreneurial concept, it means you're determined. If you fail at something, you're determined to keep going.
•  
• So, I would say that it’s important to have that entrepreneurial spirit no matter what you do in your life. Whether you're going into a big corporate setting, whether you're starting a small business, whether you're joining your family business. If you think entrepreneurially it will help elevate your success in any pursuit that you have. So, that would be my one advice about going into work.
•  
• Another piece of advice would be to understand the trends that are happening, especially in the business world. One of them is this focus on data analytics. And all teachers and students in high school haven't caught up to what that means. Basically, it's taking all this data about people and places and everything that's available for companies, and finding out the story behind the data, finding out what the story behind that data means, and how it informs the path forward for a business or a company.
•  
• So, I would recommend that students start to understand that data analytics is transforming every industry. There's customer analytics, there's sports analytics, there's all these different ways that analytics are infusing the work world in a lot of ways. So, it doesn't mean that students have to be data scientists, but it does mean that it's going to touch them, no matter what job they have - even if it’s in marketing or something else. They should be aware of what it means and how it's transforming the world.