A day in the life of a black entrepreneur

Horse Ranch Field Trip. The look on the students' faces when they stepped out of the vehicles onto gravel, with the smell of cow manure in the air, and donkeys and goats approaching to greet them, was priceless. Outside of an occasional pony ride at a local fair, most of our students had never been up close and personal with farm animals. Their initial apprehension and curiosity, turned into a memorable experience.

Students were able to clean horse stalls, feed pigs, bathe goats, sheer sheep, ride horses and chase chickens. Most importantly, they were able to meet a black woman, Sharon Harris, the owner of Southport Ranch, who told the students about turning her love of animals into a business, the struggles and the valuable lessons she learned along the way as a pioneer in the field.

This experience gave students new possibilities they had not previously considered. Entrepreneurship is one of the many career paths that we want our Black and Bi-racial students to explore.