The PEAK Leadership Institute at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School

9th Grade Foundations learned from Tommy Stoner former Staff Sergeant and CEO of SOTF - Special Operators Transition Foundation about his 29 years of service in the Army and his passion for servant leadership and helping people find their purpose. Tommy shared with students many of the characteristics and behaviors that make for great leaders in both the military and civilian business. We're grateful to Tommy and current SOTF CEO Austin Moore for their time to make this opportunity possible. We also send a special thank you to HIES parent, Phil Deguire, for the introduction to SOTF!

PEAK is proud to partner this year with Paws 4 A Cause. Both 8th and 9th Grade students engaged in promotions work to create awareness and engagement of the Breakthrough T1D Georgia and South Carolina organization (formally JDRF). The Holy Innocents' Breakthrough Team will participate in the annual walk, this year on October 26th, at Atlantic Station. Come join us! To learn more, watch this video created by the 9th Grade PEAK Leadership Foundations students in collaboration with HIES Media Teacher, James Jackson.

Yesterday, 9th Grade PEAK Leadership Foundations had the opportunity to explore culinary pursuits and entrepreneurship by learning from Chef Pano at Kyma! Kyma, a Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, offers a modern Greek dining experience, and students were treated to samples of octopus, lamb pie, saganaki cheese, Greek salad, pita and spreads, and baklava. They learned about Chef Pano's culinary journey from college to renowned restaurant apprenticeships all leading to his entrepreneurial venture with Kyma. Students also learned about the many roles involved in both the front and back of "the house" that make a dining experience exceptional. A huge thank you to Chef Pano and his staff for the hospitality, learning, and delicious meal!

New this year, PEAK Leadership is providing guest speakers in our Personal Finance classes in order to connect students with financial sector professionals. Yesterday, we kicked off our first talk with parent, Kimberly Evans, CFP® CEO of Align Wealth Advisors . Kimberly gave a talk to a small group of students last year, and she has hosted PEAK students at her office in a previous year. She also volunteers her time with PEAK on our advisory committee. Thank you, Kimberly, for your time and expertise in encouraging these students to develop healthy money habits as they build wealth for their futures!

Wrapping up an incredible week of entrepreneurial learning! In addition to two site visits to Slip Robotics and Tech Square Ventures which provided an in-depth look into the world of startups, we also learned from guest speakers throughout the week. Thank you to Holy Innocents' Episcopal School alumni Ian Marshall, Peter Kiley at Monday Night Brewing, and Kate Stewart of Bauble Stockings for sharing their journeys with us. Parents Blake Patton and Amber Jackson with Pvolve gave us insight into startups and franchising, and special thanks to parent Chad Carlisle for arranging a Zoom meeting to learn from Robert Nishihara with Anyscale. We look forward to connecting a different group of students with a new slate of entrepreneurs in the spring! #entrepreneurship #developingleaders #inspiringpassions #nais #sais

We had the pleasure of hosting students from The PEAK Leadership Institute at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School for a tour of ATDC. Aubrey Lenyard, ATDC's Community Engagement Manager, led the group through an engaging session where they learned the importance of customer discovery in launching successful startups. The students were introduced to some of our portfolio companies, RIF Robotics, Wahsega, Wripple, PlayerZero, who are making waves in their respective industries. This tour offered a peek into the real-world challenges and opportunities that come with entrepreneurship and technology development. We are excited to help nurture the next generation of innovators and look forward to seeing their entrepreneurial spirit thrive!

We don't know how to say thank you enough. Hosting forty high school students is no small feat Tech Square Ventures! Breaking into smaller groups, we learned from Maddie Harper with Engage, Aubrey Lenyard from ATDC, Animesh Koratana from PlayerZero, Shannon Denton with Wripple, and Jack Semrau at The Hangar, Delta's Innovation Hub. Special thanks to Jordan Greenberg for the coordination and welcome, and of course, Blake Patton, for making it possible and sharing his inspiring vision of the future with young minds. Atlanta is the place to be! #entrepreneurship #HIES

Fantastic visit to Slip Robotics with PEAK 9th Graders to learn about their robots and startup culture. John Jakomin and Chris Smith created an engaging learning experience today where students asked tons of questions and were able to see the robots in action. We have many future engineers, marketers, and leaders in this group! Grateful for the time. #developingleaders #inspiringpassions #entrepreneurship #experientiallearning #HIES

It's PEAK Entrepreneurship Week! We're thankful to HIES parent, Blake Patton, for helping to kick off our week on Friday with a leadership talk to the PEAK Experiences class. Mr. Patton has also been instrumental in connecting students with a site visit to Slip Robotics and Tech Square Ventures later this week. Stay tuned for updates on the many entrepreneurs students will have learned from over the week!

Reflecting on our first full week of class with both the ColorWorks Group and our friends from the International Community School ( ICS )- Ghana. Leaders build others up! Being self-aware is a key component of a successful leader, and students went through a three-day workshop to understand how they show up in teams and increase empathy for their teammates. What a great start to the year! #isaidthisyouheardthat #roundsquare #hies #goldenbears