40 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JANUARY 10, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
A real Civil War lesson at Bayside’s Cardozo high
Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in
Bayside has been bringing the Civil War
to life for their students for over a decade.
Th is year, the high school brought back
the interactive history war lesson for
hundreds of juniors as a supplement to
what they’re learning in the classroom.
Hundreds of students got the opportunity
to see, hear and even taste the experience
of Civil War-era soldiers on Friday,
Jan. 4. Th e outdoor activities were led by
Cardozo history teacher Dr. Peter Ridout,
an active member of the 124th New York
State Volunteers Civil War re-enactment
unit. Joining Ridout for his 12th year was
his son William Ridout, who is currently a
cargo specialist in the U.S. Army, and fellow
social studies teacher and war re-enactor
Stanton Mitrano.
— Jenna Bagcal
Silicon Valley entrepreneur returns to Queens high school alma mater
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Queens native and Silicon Valley entrepreneur
Steve Blank addressed students
at his alma mater, Martin Van Buren
High School, on Tuesday morning about
the importance of an education and a
budding career in entrepreneurship.
Blank, a graduate of Martin Van Buren
— located at 230-17 Hillside Ave. in
Queens Village — returned aft er 50 years
to chat with students in a packed auditorium
Jan. 8 from the Business Technology
Early College High School (BTECH).
BTECH is an innovative six-year education
program that was developed through
the partnership of Queensborough
Community College, multinational technology
soft ware corporation SAP, the
New York City Department of Education
(DOE) and CUNY.
Th e visionary innovator shared three
key advice tips to BTECH students on
becoming a successful entrepreneur:
communication, a college education and
obtaining resilience and tenacity.
“Th e word ‘resilience’ is a key part of
being an entrepreneur because you get
knocked down a lot,” Blank said. “First
you’ll discover whether you have it in
you naturally or if you don’t, you need
to learn how to do it because it’ll get you
through life.”
Blank, who resides in Pescadero,
California, is a sought-aft er speaker,
best-selling author, distinguished professor
and founder of several successful
companies.
Voted “less likely to succeed” in high
school, Blank has become the “father of
modern entrepreneurship.” He changed
how startups are built; how entrepreneurship
is taught worldwide; how science
is commercialized in the U.S.; and
how companies and the government
innovate.
Blank developed the Lean LaunchPad
and the CUNY Innovation Challenge,
which provide students with real-world,
hands-on learning experiences and pathways
to successfully transfer that knowledge
into products and services that benefi
t society. Th e initiatives dovetail with
Queensborough programs that showcase
student creativity and commitment,
allowing them to bring their ideas to life
and eff ectively communicate those ideas
to an audience of peers and judges.
When asked about his success aft er
dropping out of college, Blank said, “You
have to care about something. If you
don’t care, whether it’s school, a job, or
something, you’ll be fl oating around in
life.”
Blank encouraged students to continue
their education and to believe in themselves,
even during times of failure.
“Practice being an entrepreneur in
school. I wish I would’ve went to a fouryear
college rather than having to learn
it by myself,” Blank said. “I paid for that
every year when I didn’t know something.”
Blank added, “All of you are going to
fail in your life and that’s the nature of
life, but it’s how you deal with those failures
and those screw-ups is what is going
to aff ect you as a person. You have to
own it, and once you’re able to own it,
you have to fi x it.”
Blank said he remains humbled by his
failures learning lessons not just about
himself but the nature of failure and success
in Silicon Valley.
“Th ere is no limit on what you could do
in this country,” Blank said. “You can do
anything you want. You just have to be
passionate about it.”
Photo courtesy of BTECH
Steve Blank (r.) Renowned Entrepreneur, Queens native and MVB Alum at Martin Van Buren High
School on Jan. 8.
Photos by Jenna Bagcal
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