Student Entrepreneurs & Executive Director of CEL Featured on Podcast

This past spring, former Head of School Priscilla Sands (1996-2015)—the visionary behind the Sands Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL)—returned to campus to record two special episodes of her podcast, So, Mom…. 

In the first episode, she sat down with three inspiring SCH student entrepreneurs who are already making their mark.

The conversation, now featured in Season 3 of the podcast, shines a light on the confidence, creativity, and purpose that define the CEL experience.

• Marlee created an aromatherapy hair-care brand, Mode of Love, that celebrates and nurtures natural hair.
   
• Ayana, founder of the Sweet Dream Project, transforms pediatric hospital rooms with joyful décor—and recently won first place ($2,500) in the First Trust Eagles Pitch Competition.
   
• Blake is designing Jeune Academy, a vision for equitable education beginning with an after-school program.
   

Together, they spoke with Dr. Sands about purpose, confidence, and building ventures as well as the power of entrepreneurship to spark change and build community impact. Dr. Sands’s return was not only a celebration of SCH’s entrepreneurial spirit but also a reminder of how far students can go when given the space to dream, design, and lead.

View the episode here.

In the So, Mom… episode released this week, Ed Glassman, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and a 2003 graduate of CHA, reflected on CEL’s growth from a “tiny nugget of an idea” to an internationally recognized, trademarked program that has transformed learning for every SCH student from Pre-K through Grade 12. 

During the conversation, Glassman emphasized CEL’s unique approach: embedding entrepreneurial thinking from the earliest grades. “For our youngest learners, we call them makers, problem-solvers, and team players,” he explained. “At its core, entrepreneurship at SCH means resilience, resourcefulness, and the confidence to bring ideas to life authentically—even as a second grader.”

He pointed to projects like the second-grade “Gifts for Good” store, where students design products with laser cutters and 3D printers, sell them online and in person, and donate proceeds to causes they’ve researched. By Upper School, that foundation builds into capstone ventures, where every 10th grader launches a business or nonprofit, with many advancing into CEL’s startup accelerator. This year, student Ayanna Banks ’26 even earned a $2,500 investment from the Philadelphia Eagles for her startup.

The podcast also touched on the evolving role of AI in education, where Glassman urged schools to embrace, not ban, new tools. “Shutting down AI would be like shutting down the internet when it was invented,” he said. At SCH, faculty are already innovating with AI: partnering with platforms like Magic School, redesigning assignments and assessments, and leading summer workshops to explore how AI can make learning more creative, collaborative, and future-focused.

For Glassman, CEL is more than business education. “Even if a young person never launches a company, thinking and acting like an entrepreneur will serve them in whatever path they choose,” he said.

As one student wisely noted during the podcast: “A setback is a comeback.” That spirit of resilience, curiosity, and authentic innovation is at the heart of CEL—and at the heart of SCH.

View the episode here.