HCS students culminate their Summer Business Institute: Leader Edition with HRT event 

The Academies of Hampton offered its Summer Business Institute: Leader Edition, which provided juniors and seniors an immersive experience in solving real-world industry challenges. This summer immersion experience allowed students to explore and align their passions to skill development from the lens of the industry quadrants that make up the 16 Academies of Hampton: 

• Business and Information Technology

• Creative Studies

• Engineering and Technology

• Public Service

Students applied career-specific knowledge to industry-focused challenges, reinforcing academic, technical, and research skills within their respective fields. Each challenge uniquely aligned with the student’s career academy, requiring them to integrate their expertise in solving complex problems presented by business partners.

The Creative Studies quadrant partnered with Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) to bring students from Kecoughtan High School, Bethel High School, Hampton High School, and Phoebus High School to work collaboratively to explore, understand, design, and propose possible solutions to the innovative challenge: 

Develop and implement a communication strategy to promote the Student Freedom Pass, a free transit pass for students that provides unlimited access to all HRT buses, light rail, and ferries. The project aimed to encourage young people to take advantage of the pass and utilize public transportation by designing eye-catching graphics for two buses.

Students engaged in a rigorous, collaborative process that involved questioning, researching, and applying information to craft their final designs. Throughout the project, they worked closely with business mentors and HRT professionals, who provided critical feedback and insight into the transit industry. Students also participated in travel training, experiencing each mode of transportation HRT offers, gaining a deeper understanding of the service they were promoting.

With students taking the lead in decision-making, they not only enhanced their technical skills but also developed crucial workplace abilities such as agility, adaptability, and collaboration. They continuously responded to feedback, challenged existing ideas, and adapted their thinking to present a solution that resonated with business and community needs.

This project enhanced HRT’s business model, so much so that their executive board invited the students to be recognized at the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads meeting on September 26, 2024. The commissioners and students witnessed the unveiling of one of the buses and HRT family members joined a celebratory ride around the city. Amy Jordan, director of communications & business development, commented that the collaboration with the Academies of Hampton supports their vision as a progressive mobility agency that promotes prosperity across Hampton Roads through collaboration and teamwork.

For more information about the Academies of Hampton or the Summer Business Institute, please contact Veronica Hurd, director of the Academies of Hampton, at vhurd@hampton.k12.va.us.