Nalukai Academy on Teaching and Learning Entrepreneurship

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On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Nalukai program director Aaron Schorn and a high school student Sherry Jiang from Kealakehe high school. 

The Nalukai Academy Startup Camp is a ten-day intensive entrepreneurship, technology, and design camp for high school students The camp covers a multitude of different subject areas with real-world applications, such as management, digital storytelling, design thinking, and large-scale digital projects. Campers at Nalukai are driven, clever, and innovative. 

Nalukai focuses: 

• Digital storytelling – branding & marketing, content creation, web design
• Leadership – project management, collaboration, team dynamics
• Entrepreneurship – networking, investor pitches, business plan development
• Design thinking –  prototyping, mind-mapping, iteration
• Technology – coding, web development, digital business tools

Transcript

Tom Vander Ark: Powerful learning experiences this summer. We’ve been featuring some great examples from around the country where young people are doing world-changing work, supported by programs and teachers. I’m Tom Vander Ark, and you’re listening to the Getting Smart Podcast. Today, we’re rejoined by a friend of the pod, Aaron Schorn. Hey, Aaron, it’s great to have you on. We love the two roles we talk to you about—your creative work at Unrulr, a cool experiential learning platform, and today, the other half of your life as Program Director at Nalukai Academy. This summer, you’re running the camp.

Aaron Schorn: Thank you for having me, Tom.

Tom Vander Ark: And we’re also joined by a student at the camp, Sherry. Hi Sherry, it’s great to have you on. I know you’re in the middle of your camp experience, and we’ll dive into that. But Aaron, tell us about the academy. What is it? How long does it last? Who goes to it? What do they do?

Aaron Schorn: The Nalukai Academy startup camp is a 10-day intensive boarding program, completely free. We take 28 high schoolers from public, private, and charter schools, representing a diversity of socioeconomics and technical skills. We put them in teams of four, where they work to solve problems in their local communities. It’s not just a tech startup camp; we’re really trying to redefine what entrepreneurship looks like by connecting it with Hawaiian culture. Founders focus on technological, cultural, and social entrepreneurship, along with leadership development. At our core, it’s about shifting learning from passive to active, ensuring students know they belong as entrepreneurs and learners, and giving them the confidence to turn methodologies into future ventures.

Tom Vander Ark: That’s really cool, Aaron. I want to underscore a couple of things you said. It starts with belonging—creating a space that’s safe, where students can show up as themselves and be willing to try. Then, projects are all connected to the world and the community. What are some other keys to the experience?

Aaron Schorn: Storytelling and identity. We want learners to pull from their lives. Paul Graham, one of the founders of Y Combinator, talks about how great startups come from founders’ lives. We call our students “founders,” not “students,” encouraging them to draw from their experiences and stay in the problem space longer than most programs do. We want them to fall in love with the problems before shifting to solutions, and we celebrate their learning journey—not just the products they create, but how they’ve grown as human beings.

Tom Vander Ark: I love the storytelling aspect. It’s so tied to identity development, helping young people express who they are and what they care about. We also love the difference-making angle. A couple of years ago, we wrote Difference Making at the Heart of Learning, and we appreciate inviting kids to do work that matters to them and their community. Is that what it’s about?

Aaron Schorn: Absolutely. Any learner, whether they’re 40 or 15, is more invested when they see themselves in the work. We’ve evolved over eight years, with over 200 alumni. It started as a hacker camp, then shifted to lean startup methodology, and now it’s entrepreneurship through the lens of Hawaiian culture. Once we involved Hawaiian cultural practitioners in curriculum creation, we found our identity, and that’s what Sherry is part of now.

Tom Vander Ark: Aaron, I appreciate your focus on entrepreneurship. We see it as one of the top skills young people need, given the world today. This is like the Kauffman Real-World Learning Initiative in Kansas City. It’s about constructing value for a community, not just starting a business. I love how you connect entrepreneurship with social impact—it’s about finding a problem worth solving and delivering value for a community, right?

Aaron Schorn: Exactly, and connecting life experiences to solving those problems. Only Sherry can solve certain problems because she has unique life experiences, so we’re showing our founders that their backgrounds, strengths, and even weaknesses are superpowers allowing them to solve problems only they can address.

Tom Vander Ark: Sherry, how did you find out about Nalukai?

Sherry Jiang: A lot of my friends have done Nalukai. One of my friends, Mae Kanada, is here this year as a team leader, and our teacher, Mr. Justin Brown, really promotes the program. He teaches students how to innovate and think outside the box, not just prepare to be 9-to-5 employees. I applied because I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship, and I heard it was a life-changing experience that shifts your perspective on issues.

Tom Vander Ark: Do you go to school on the Big Island?

Sherry Jiang: Yes, I just graduated from Konawaena High School, class of 2023.

Tom Vander Ark: Congratulations! In high school, did you ever get a chance to do any student-led projects or entrepreneurial activities?

Sherry Jiang: Yes, I did an AP Research project on astronomy, which was very student-led, with support from a program called Maunakea Scholars. But other programs I’ve been in focus on human connection, not specifically entrepreneurship. This is different because it uses human connection to address issues and create ventures that actually make a difference.

Tom Vander Ark: Did you pick an issue at camp or join a team with one already identified?

Sherry Jiang: I was put into a team with three other girls. We went through several different problems. Initially, we explored food deserts in rural and low-income areas of Hawaii, but we realized we couldn’t fully relate to that issue. As an all-girls team, we decided to focus on something relevant to us: the lack of access to female reproductive health care in Hawaii. With clinics unavailable on many islands, over 118,000 women struggle to access necessary care. This issue felt urgent, especially after Roe v. Wade was overturned, so we pivoted to address it.

Tom Vander Ark: Aaron, this problem-finding process is critical. Most high schoolers don’t get the space or permission to identify problems they care about. Would you agree that problem-finding is a big deal?

Aaron Schorn: Absolutely. Angela Stockman talks about the power of pause and reflection, and Kwame Anning in San Diego emphasizes the need for time to be creative. We give our founders time in the problem space and have them do activities to explore various issues. They use AI, do assumption testing, cold-call people, and continuously refine their understanding of the problem. We push them to fall in love with the problem space because entrepreneurship is about embracing uncertainty and learning from real-world experiences.

Tom Vander Ark: Sherry, was it hard to negotiate with other learners on the problem your team would tackle?

Sherry Jiang: Yes, initially, we wanted to address food deserts, but we couldn’t connect with it. We pivoted to female reproductive health because it’s relevant to all of us, as the only all-girls team. We wanted to address an issue impacting many women in Hawaii and beyond, so there was some back and forth, but we ultimately chose this topic because of its significance.

Tom Vander Ark: I want to shout out Margarita Geleske, founder of Uncharted Learning, who stresses the importance of problem-finding. She says it’s critical to let storming take place in group dynamics, as it’s a valuable skill you’ll use throughout life. How did you learn about the issue you decided to tackle? What research did you do?

Sherry Jiang: We researched existing resources. One facilitator, Alan Murabayashi, challenged our initial idea of creating a physician database, suggesting people would likely use Google for that. We shifted focus to address the lack of access to doctors, especially for women on outer islands who can’t afford travel or hospital costs. We’re working on a website for community-based support and funding to help women reach the care they need.

Tom Vander Ark: Is ten days enough time?

Sherry Jiang: No, it’s not. We built our website in less than two hours, but it’s enough time for a valuable sprint, where you find a problem, identify solutions, and create a prototype. Nalukai teaches us the skills to build ventures in the future on problems we’re passionate about. My team and I plan to continue our project beyond Nalukai because we believe it can have a big impact on our community.

Tom Vander Ark: Aaron, could other schools replicate this during the school year or summer?

Aaron Schorn: Absolutely. Schools need to invest time in spaces like this, ideally ungraded and competency-based. I’m a big fan of capstone programs, and what makes Nalukai special is the intensive boarding experience, 12-hour days with a mix of culture, mental health, and fitness. This setup is replicable, and honestly, I’m frustrated that more schools haven’t adopted similar programs.

Tom Vander Ark: We share your impatience. A couple of shoutouts: Kansas City’s Real World Learning initiative, a network of 85 high schools creating connected projects; the Global Academy at Notre Dame de Sion, where students recently went to Kenya; and the Knowledge Society, an after-school program for world-changing projects. Sherry, would this experience have been more impactful if you had done it after your sophomore or junior year?

Sherry Jiang: Definitely. It’s changed how I look at problems and solutions. I think I would have approached my high school research project differently and maybe chosen an issue I’m more passionate about. This experience

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Sherry Jiang: This experience has given me a new perspective. If I had done it earlier, in my sophomore or junior year, it might have shaped my post-high school plans and the way I approached applying to colleges. I might have chosen a different focus for my projects and programs.

Tom Vander Ark: That’s really interesting. So, what’s next for you? I understand you have some exciting plans coming up.

Sherry Jiang: Yes, I’m headed to Germany on a state-funded scholarship called the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program. I’ll be there for a year, and it’s fully sponsored by the State Department. I chose this program because I’m interested in international relations, and I thought it would be a perfect fit.

Tom Vander Ark: That’s fantastic! What a great opportunity. Aaron, this sounds like such a transformative experience. Thank you for sharing the Nalukai camp with us.

Aaron Schorn: It’s an honor to be here. This year, we have students from 23 different schools out of our 28 founders. Think about the cross-pollination that happens here! We have students ranging from rising ninth graders to graduating seniors, and they’re bringing these experiences back to their communities. Human connection is at the heart of Nalukai—it’s about working on teams, dealing with setbacks, and being good human beings. If that’s what entrepreneurship can be, I think it’s incredibly valuable.

Tom Vander Ark: Aaron, you reminded me of something. My shorthand for the future of work is smart, collaborative teams working together on new problems, using smart tools. This camp is giving young people the opportunity to experience that.

Aaron Schorn: Absolutely. And I want to add that one of the magic elements of Nalukai is bringing in subject matter mentors—adults who are doing the work in real life. In many educational settings, students are interns or externs, but we need experts—videographers, artists, writers, coders—to act as consultants for students and help bring their ideas to life. That’s the magic of Nalukai: the interconnected relationships, with mentors who have real-world experience, and even students mentoring other students. That peer mentorship is powerful.

Tom Vander Ark: It sounds amazing. And I know this is a new experience for many teachers as well, walking alongside teams of learners and inviting them into problems without clear answers. It requires humility and a willingness to say, “I don’t know, but let’s find out together,” and to connect students with community mentors who can help them take the next step.

Aaron Schorn: Totally. Teachers are moving from being the “sage on the stage” to a guide alongside students, facilitating and supporting as they tackle real-world challenges.

Tom Vander Ark: It paints a beautiful picture of learning—students in teams with guides, opportunities, and connections to community mentors who can offer insights on the next steps. Aaron Schorn, what a fantastic glimpse into the Nalukai summer camp. Sherry, thank you for sharing your story.

Sherry Jiang: Thank you so much for letting me tell it.

Aaron Schorn: Honored to be here. Thanks for amplifying Sherry’s story and the stories of our other founders.

Tom Vander Ark: And thank you to everyone joining us on this summer journey of valuable learning experiences. A big thank you to Mason Pashia, our producer, and the entire Getting Smart team for making this possible. Until next week, keep learning, keep leading, and keep innovating for equity.

Links:

• Nalukai Summer Agenda
• Nalukai
• Nalukai Blog
• Aarons and Trinity Asing Podcast
• Paul Graham Essay 
• Difference Making at the Heart of Learning
• Real World Learning
• Kwaku Aning
• Uncharted Learning – Margarita Geleske
• Notre Dame de Sion Podcast Episode
• The Knowledge Society