Contributed by Ivana Vera Sanchez, Trailblaze Director, Entrepreneurial Leadership Program 2026-27 Cohort, Major: Industrial Engineering
What do the founders of YouTube, the inventors of Post-it notes, and a group of students from Garden City Middle School have in common? At first glance, very little. But after a high-energy, four-hour journey with Mpowered’s Trailblaze program, the answer became clear: they all possess the ability to spot opportunities where others only see the status quo.
The journey to Trailblaze began last semester with a specific vision: Launching the Spaceship. This wasn’t just a fun acronym, but it was our strategic roadmap for building a startup from the ground up. As Director, I focused on the intricate planning of the event, from securing the OAMI and ESG grants to the ground-level logistics of bringing Garden City Middle School to campus. My goal was to create a space where the next generation of innovators felt they belonged.
Demystifying the Entrepreneurship Concept
When the students arrived, “entrepreneurship” felt like a heavy, academic concept, something reserved for boardrooms, Silicon Valley or Shark Tank shows. Our mission was to break that barrier. We showed them that entrepreneurship isn’t just a business term, but it’s a mindset found everywhere, from the apps on their phones to the creators behind their favorite snacks.
Once the students realized that every product they love started with a simple “What if?”, their energy became contagious. They stopped seeing themselves as just kids in a classroom and started seeing themselves as problem-solvers.
Radical Creativity
The highlight of the day was witnessing the “crazy” brilliance that emerges when traditional boundaries are removed. One standout concept involved a creative crossover: customizing umbrellas with the charms and pins typically used for Crocs. It was a brilliant, simple realization that none of us had ever considered. This moment was a turning point for our team; it reminded us that, as we grow as entrepreneurs, we must strive to protect and emulate that unfiltered childhood curiosity.
Launching the Future
The program culminated in a high-stakes pitch competition where students defended their ventures for a chance to win LEGO sets and Michigan pennants. The creativity was boundless: the winning team presented a specialized nutrition app designed to help busy college students track calories and, more importantly, remind them when it’s time to eat during a busy day. Another group proposed an autonomous recycling robot designed to make sustainability effortless.
The list of ideas went on and on, each more impressive than the last. Watching these students stand tall and pitch with such genuine passion was the ultimate validation of our months of preparation. It proved that when you give young minds the right tools, they don’t just think outside the box, but they reinvent it.
None of this would have been possible without the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) and Mpowered Entrepreneurship. Their feedback and guidance were vital at every step, helping us refine our vision into a successful reality. We are also deeply grateful to OAMI and ESG for providing the grants that fueled this mission.
Trailblaze was more than just a four-hour workshop: it was a launchpad. By showing these students that entrepreneurship is already all around them, we hope we’ve inspired them to one day build something the world hasn’t seen yet.
Join the Mission: Please feel free to follow us on Mpowered’s social media to learn more about our future events and see how you can be part of sharing the entrepreneurial spirit with the world.
