Dr. Neil McCurdy
Principal | Executive Director
It is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to The School for Entrepreneurship & Technology. This school is the synthesis of two of my passions—entrepreneurship and technology—and delivers to our students two skillsets and mindsets that are essential to finding success in the 21st century economy. I have been filled with wonder and awe throughout my lifelong exploration of technology and science at the marvels of human ingenuity and the mysteries that the universe has left for us to discover. Throughout this period of discovery, not a single day has gone by without me learning something new, and I cannot count the number of times that my entire worldview has been upended by something new that I have learned. How lucky I am to have had the good fortune to engage in this continued discovery of knowledge and to be in a position where I can share and stir in our students my same passion!
During my time of technological exploration, I have also lived the ideals of entrepreneurship. I learned early in life that I did not want to be known as just a number or just another cog in the wheel. Though I did not know it at the time, I had been endowed with the entrepreneurial spirit. Indeed, I have been an integral part of a three-person start-up; I have been a graduate student in a small lab; I have taught in small charter schools; and I have been a part of the leadership team of SET High from its inception. Entrepreneurship is not just about starting your own company, though. To me, it is the freedom to innovate, the freedom to solve problems, the freedom to build what you want to build, the freedom to be who you want to be, and the freedom to dream what you want to dream. At SET, we strive to produce students who embody the entrepreneurial spirit and the skills and confidence to be able to strike out on their own. We will give your child the confidence to take risks, the confidence that he or she can try again, and the confidence that failure is not permanent. In fact, at SET, we explicitly teach that failure is part of the natural learning process and the necessary result of stretching our abilities to the limit.
Entrepreneurship and technology is the perfect pairing because technology magnifies the talents of the few. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon were all started by a few individuals working out of their proverbial garages, and each has landed a position in the top 10 most successful companies ever. Technology allows entrepreneurs to disrupt and transform the world. There is not one business sector that has not been massively transformed by technology, and there is not one business sector that is not ripe for entrepreneurs to transform the whole landscape.
All students across the world should at least have an appreciation for both entrepreneurship and technology if they are going to find success. Our students have the opportunity to live and breathe entrepreneurship and technology throughout their high school experience.
Are you ready? Get SET and ROAR!