Written by Colin McEvoy | July 16, 2024 | SHARE
Lehigh University's Iacocca Global Entrepreneurship Intensive program broadens horizons for high school students through hands-on learning and global networking
Mukelwe Gina, a 16-year-old from the South African country of Eswatini, visited New York City for the first time last week. She is one of 45 high school students from around the globe participating in the Iacocca Global Entrepreneurship Intensive (IGEI) at Lehigh University this month.
Gina was captivated by the sights and sounds of the city, but her first visit to the Big Apple was no ordinary one. Alongside her fellow IGEI students, she visited a New York City company, toured the World Trade Center, networked with business professionals, and received a tour and briefing at the United Nations headquarters.
“It was an amazing trip,” Gina said. “This program really pushes you outside of your comfort zone and exposes you to a lot of different things. I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of people and make connections that I’m sure will be permanent ones.”
Hosted by Lehigh’s Iacocca Institute, IGEI is an immersive, hands-on program that combines experiential learning and intercultural connection, allowing emerging leaders from around the world to enhance their skills in entrepreneurship, leadership, and global citizenship.
The students began their July 11 trip to New York with industry visits to four different companies, including Cadre, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, the Institute of International Education, and TAG Infosphere. They met with company officials and learned how the firms participate in the global business world.
Afterwards, they had lunch with Lehigh University alumni at Cafe Manhattan, where they expanded their professional networks and received advice about their education and career choices, according to Carrie Duncan, Program Director at the Iacocca Institute.
The trip concluded with their visit to the United Nations, where they received briefings from data scientists, researchers, and program specialists with the UN Department of Peace Operations and Global Innovation Partnerships at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The students learned about several global topics during the UN briefings and were challenged to propose their own solutions to a variety of international crises that the United Nations is actively working to resolve, according to Andrew Song, a 17-year-old Parkland High School senior participating in IGEI.
“It was really humbling because when you visit places and see the infrastructure that’s in place, you can see how the world is actually changing through meeting places, and how much power individuals there have to improve the world,” Song said. “I think it’s really inspirational what they’re trying to achieve there.”
The New York trip was part of a four-week program at Lehigh that included a wide range of speakers, business visits, workshops, team-building sessions, and much more. Student groups were also partnered with local companies and organizations for projects to work on throughout the month.
Anna Sophia Dao, a 17-year-old high school senior from Honolulu, Hawaii, worked with the PBS39 public television station for her project. She and her fellow students were tasked with designing and pitching an idea for a podcast for middle schoolers, which aligned particularly well with Dao’s interest in marketing and advertising.
“We had to create the concept completely from scratch, then design it and get ready to pitch it to them,” Dao said. “It was interesting because I’ve been involved in business for a while, but this is my first time experiencing business in the real world.”
Ethan Chua, 17, a senior at Head-Royce School in Oakland, Calif., said his favorite part of the IGEI program has been connecting and networking with industry professionals he might otherwise never have had a chance to meet.
During the alumni lunch in New York City, he met with William Peracchio ‘21G, who earned a master’s degree in computer science at Lehigh and now works as a technical product manager at Knox Networks, a New York-based company that creates global payments infrastructure software for financial institutions.
“I think one thing IGEI does well is it introduces you to a lot of different fields and subsections of business,” Chua said. “It exposes you to all these different opportunities.”
Peracchio added: “It was great to meet students like Ethan who were looking at education and career choices just like I was so many years ago. I remember how I enjoyed learning more about the potential pathways in front of me, and I'm happy to have been able to pass that favor along to the next generation."