Education Students Hone Entrepreneurial Skills With Help Of University Of Missouri-St. Louis Accelerate

Press release from the University of Missouri-St. Louis:

In December, Adam Morgan and his colleagues eagerly took the stage at the new UMSL Accelerate space on the University of Missouri–St. Louis campus and presented their idea for “My Voice, My Choice,” an awareness campaign to bridge the communication gap between nonspeaking patients and health care professionals.

“Our project was how to humanize health care for people who communicate differently,” said Morgan, a nonspeaking autistic person who communicates with an augmentative and alternative communication device. “I’d like patients who use alternative communication devices and methods to be respected, accepted and understood when engaging in health care decisions about themselves.”

Morgan and his classmates were pitching the idea as the culmination of a semester’s worth of work in their “Social Entrepreneurship” class led by Theresa Coble, the E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor of Experiential and Family Education.

Coble said the class, which is part of the social entrepreneurship track in the College of Education’s BES program, typically attracts around 20 students per semester and is designed to teach the skills necessary to solve problems in society and identify sustainable models for social innovation.

But there was a new twist last semester.

Through increased collaboration with UMSL Accelerate, the partnership reached several new milestones. The social entrepreneurship students were first to tour the new UMSL Accelerate space, which was formerly Gallery 210, and provide feedback on its amenities. They also became the first students to utilize the space, particularly for class sessions, breakout groups and community engagement.

In recent years, the class has been structured around student pitches, but in Fall 2021 there was a new development. Students participated in community-engaged learning rotations at a diverse set of local organizations.

Dan Lauer, the founding executive director of UMSL Accelerate and the UMSL Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Accelerator, said the joint effort between the College of Education and UMSL Accelerate demonstrates the university’s desire to pursue interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.

To him, it was an ideal way to kick off things in the new space.

“What was powerful was our first class was a social entrepreneurship class from the College of Education,” Lauer said. “I think that’s important to signal our commitment that innovation and entrepreneurship comes from everywhere.”

College of Business Administration Dean Joan Phillips concurred and applauded the effort.

“The College of Business Administration is proud of UMSL Accelerate and its commitment to interdisciplinary entrepreneurship education,” Phillips said. “Dr. Coble’s ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ class is an exciting example of this. This class brings together students of all majors to develop business plans to address social, cultural and environmental issues. Students learn that solutions to complex issues require a broad range of knowledge and expertise. But by collaborating across disciplines, it is possible to develop more robust solutions and strengthen the impact the entrepreneurial venture will have on society.”

College of Education Dean Ann Taylor also praised the interdisciplinary endeavor.

“The College of Education is deeply committed to collaborative work, whether that is partnering with communities or with colleagues across campus,” Taylor said. “We know that people have interests, curiosities and commitments that flow across disciplinary boundaries. We are delighted to see the blossoming of our social entrepreneurship strand in the BES as it intersects with the UMSL Accelerate programming.”

Coble said she jumped at the chance to work with Lauer in the new UMSL Accelerate space. This was a logical next step that built on their Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship Committee work. It was a natural fit considering her work with the BES program and her expertise in interpretation, which helps people find meaning at heritage sites outside of the classroom.

It seemed like just the right circumstances to bring these added dimensions to BES students. Coble added that BES students, many of whom are nontraditional, bring their own unique experiences to the table.

“They are bootstrapping,” Coble said. “They are figuring out how to navigate and make things better for their families. They’re highly motivated, and I would say these skill sets – I became convinced – could be something that helps build confidence and also unlocks strategies for them to pursue their careers. It just seemed like a perfect fit.”

Morgan was one such student.

As a nonspeaking autistic person, Morgan has continually worked to break down barriers in his life. He has created a YouTube channel called “Tech Talk with Adam Morgan,” contributed to the book “Leaders Around Me: Autobiographies of Autistics who Type, Point, and Spell to Communicate” and done consulting work through the Adam Morgan Foundation, a nonprofit run by his mother to support inclusive opportunities for neurodiverse individuals in all aspects of their lives.

This press release was produced by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The views expressed here are the author’s own.