Hello! My name is Catherine O’Donnell and I am 18 years old. I am a high school senior and will be graduating in a few days! This month, I’ll be writing all four blogs as a Young Entrepreneur series. I am the Education Research Intern here at Outgrow Your Garage. Currently, I am also working on AdvancEducation, which is a project to develop and provide advanced science coursework for rural, under-funded high schools that offer few or no advanced classes. The first step in developing this is to create a course. I have started creating an advanced biology course as I enjoy and understand biology.
Creating advanced STEM coursework as an 18-year-old comes with its challenges, similar to the challenges that many entrepreneurs face. Whether you’re young, like me, or coming into a new industry, a lack of credibility and confidence can hinder your progress.
Credibility can be a logical concern when you’re starting a new project. For example, I have only had two jobs: at a bike shop and here, at Outgrow Your Garage. And I don’t have a degree backing my qualifications, such as one in education or biology. These are all valid reasons that I may be less qualified than someone else. They do not mean that I cannot make AdvancEducation a reality.
Before I was offered this internship, I told Jessi about AdvancEducation even though I had not finalized all the details yet. She noticed that Outgrow Your Garage had a lot in common with my project and offered me an internship. If I had not had the confidence to attempt to explain my project, I would not have been offered this internship.
And, just like you, I should have this confidence in myself. Although I am young, I am not without qualifications. I did very well in AP Biology scoring well in the class and on the exam. I always strived to deeply understand the concepts throughout the class. It does not take much brain power for me to jump back into those topics even now, almost a year later. I also love learning and talking about biology. This makes my explanations of biological topics far more engaging than someone who does not find the information interesting. When there is information I do not know, that I want to be included in my class, I can learn it. That is why I now have confidence in myself to make AdvancEducation a reality.
And you deserve to have confidence in yourself too. If you weren’t the right person for the job, you wouldn’t be here. A job is always better done by someone who wants to do it. You’re here because you’re passionate about your service and customers.
It is very hard to convince someone else of something you do not believe yourself. Gaining confidence in yourself and your credibility will improve your ability to pitch yourself as the best option to clients.
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