Education Entrepreneurship with Rick Fernandez ’02
How do you react to a mistake? Ben and Rick talk on innovating and advocating for student success, including pulling industry into the decision-making process of curriculum and pedagogy. They also discussed how pursuing uncharted territory revealed a passion for Rick that he’s carrying on as a school administrator. On recruiting: Ultimately, employers want great workers who are going to be creative and innovative. We need more people who are solving actual market problems, asking, “How can I add value to the market directly?” Leaders constantly need to be looking for those who will have a founder mentality; those who recruit new skills as needed, deliver results despite any politics, and will take accountability for success at the macro level. On entrepreneurship: It’s a difficult concept to explain and emulate. Also difficult to quantify and capture – mistakes are where the learning happens. Seeing the mistake and learning at the moment is vital to success. We need more details on the setbacks and the decisions are the crux of how to make it… or not. Advice for navigating change in an educational organization: Any change is hard and it’s easy to say no to something. Finding unique solutions allows students what they desperately need: Access.