Unique Mentor-Created Contests Push Students to New Heights

There is a positive chain reaction that occurs when one person takes the bold step to add someone to their network. One of my students met an incredibly accomplished and incredibly warm customer at her father’s car dealership. They bonded over a shared nickname, and all of sudden the Co-Founder, Managing Director, and President of Advanced Strategic Partners, Melissa Butterworth, was on the phone with me to schedule visits to my classroom to share her story with our amazing Learn to Start Entrepreneurial Studies students. It was clear from our first conversation that she was heart-aligned with our mission, but seeing her interact with the students demonstrated she was a true mentor that fit our elite group of Global Ambassadors. We are incredibly grateful to have Melissa come alongside us as we continue to provide the type of real-market mentorship that most students throughout the world are missing.

Melissa devised two contests for our Learn to Start students to enter. She is in the process of publishing her second book which focuses on finding your true passion, so the first contest challenged students to really push their self-awareness and identify the events, large and small, that impacted them and their path towards passion. The second contest gave students a chance for a real market opportunity: crafting the marketing theme for her next book. The students spent six weeks creating, editing, and pivoting as they finalized their submissions and Melissa interviewed each and every student so not only did they feel seen and heard, they had an opportunity to make another impression.

Sabrina Riback, a North Broward rising 11th grader, won the first contest and a cash prize. Carly Burr, a North Broward rising 12th grader, won the second contest, a cash prize, a paid internship, and a feature in the book for which she created the marketing theme. Through these contests, Melissa offered our two young, budding entrepreneurs, the opportunity to push who they are and what they can do, and offered new outcomes for them to use to prove their value.