What does learning look like when students take the lead? The Innovation Everywhere Internship (IEI) invites high school students to embark on projects they have designed themselves, tackling issues such as STEM accessibility, fast fashion, and food insecurity. With support from mentors at Babson College’s Institute for Social Innovation, peers, and community partners like Hack Club (offering fiscal sponsorship to integrate real-world fundraising and budgeting), students face the complexities of collaboration, self-direction, and turning ideas into action.
At its core, the IEI focuses on process over product. Students don’t just work on what they’re passionate about—they learn to reflect deeply on the how of their work. Structured feedback loops and guided exercises like the “5 Whys” challenge students to think critically about root causes. Students explore their individual identities while considering systemic structures, gaining clarity on who they are and what they stand for. One student noted that the process helped them understand “what we’re actually trying to do, not just the symptoms.” Another reflected on the sense of ownership they gained: “It felt empowering to know that teens can create change and have success doing it.”
Liberatory design principles, as articulated by Stanford’s D-School, frame the IEI approach: students are liberated from the habits of compliance that school often instills. As a former teacher with 20 years of classroom experience, I’ve seen students spend their days focused on what others want from them. When asked what they want to create, many don’t know how to answer. IEI seeks to shift this paradigm, inviting students to take control of their learning and create conditions for collective exploration. Agency emerges not as a static skill, but as an iterative process of navigating uncertainty. “We’ve learned how to work well with each other. It’s a lot of work, but worth it,” one participant noted.
The work of the student-led group FOCUS (Future Opportunities and Career Understanding for Students) illustrates this ethos. Born from our Summer Leadership Institute, this group has hosted two networking events connecting students with medical professionals with a third event planned. They are now expanding to surrounding cities, exemplifying the possibilities of an ecosystem of student-driven, community-centered initiatives.
This program raises vital questions: What could learning look like if student passions were met with equitable support, funding, and collaboration? How do we design ecosystems where process, not just outcomes, becomes the measure of success? And, most importantly, how can education systems create spaces for youth to lead, unlearn compliance, and embrace their agency? The IEI is just beginning to attempt an answer to these questions.
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The WPS Institute creates innovative programs and partnerships to transform learning. We advance models of schooling where learning thrives everywhere, in classrooms and beyond; where students and their families are empowered to shape their own educational journeys; and where entire communities contribute to the development of young people.
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