7A

Opportunity:

Parents need a way for their children to figure out what they want to do/give them experience said area, because otherwise lots of their money is wasted on unnecessary years of schooling. Parents also need a way for their students to gain volunteering hours for them to graduate from highschool.

Hypothesis:

All parents somewhat share this need. It’s a part of every child's growth into adulthood.Wealthy parents may not care though, because they can afford to get their child as much help as they need to decide what it is they want to do. Young teens of course also have this problem. The problem can often lead to wasted time and more student debt for the teens. However, teens can’t be a great market for this because they often don't recognize the need or don’t have the money or will to do much about it. All students need experience outside of school regardless of community service hours, but it might be crucial to note that not all school districts may have that requirement to the same degree. Some parents may not recognize that their child needs to experience what it is they want to do before really pursuing it.

Interview summaries:

Who:

All the parents I talked to recognized the problem at varying degrees. I didn't ask the income, but one parent that I knew was more wealthy than the average kid definitely recognized the problem. It may be because they didn't grow up wealthy, and had to come out of pocket for anything their financial aid didn't cover when they were younger. Parents who never went to University still recognized the problem, but they definitely hadn't thought about it as much as the ones who have been to college.

What: 

Thus category was a mixed bag. Two of the parents mainly recognized "gaining experience"  as the problem they most think about with regards to their children's future. They want their children to have something other than highschool clubs to put on resumes it college applications. This thankfully falls into the solution I've been thinking about for this opportunity. One parent the problem as a factor of life and wasn't too worried about it (but they weren't exactly struggling financially even though I don't know their exact income). This may change how I sell my solution for the problem so I'm thankful I got someone who thinks like that. I think my what mainly boils down to giving children an experience that somewhat relates to what they want to do in life.

Why:

The why was also a mixed bag, but it all came back to reasons for gaining experience. Three of the parents mentioned that they think their child need experience outside of their highschool's. Two told me that they care more about their child's experiences than whether or not they figure out what they want to do in life at an early age. They seem prepared for their children to change a lot in young adulthood.