A: The Inspire class differed from other classes that I’ve taken in the past in that it was much more professional. Everyone who was at Inspire wanted to be there and had given up their summer to participate, which meant that everyone was engaged with the professional teaching from UVA Professor Martin. It was a great atmosphere to be around and was conducive to even more personal learning.
McIntire Business Institute Student William Gade Reflects on His Inspire Experience
4 weeks ago
"I plan to apply the skills I gained at the UVA Inspire program in my career starting in business. I learned some of the foundations of business, as well as technological and personal skills that will be useful in my college career and beyond." - William Gade
The Inspire program at the UVA | Northern Virginia gives high school students the unique opportunity to explore courses in subjects they’re passionate about. Meet Inspire 2025 student William Gade! A high-school senior with a growing interest in the world of business, William joined the Inspire McIntire Business Institute course last summer to dive deeper into entrepreneurship and gain real hands-on experience. From building a startup concept with his team to winning the program’s pitch competition, he discovered both the excitement and the rigor of bringing an idea to life. We spoke with William about his project, his favorite Inspire memory, and how the class is shaping his future plans in marketing or economics.
Q: What motivated you to take the Inspire McIntire Business Institute course?
A: What motivated me to join the Inspire McIntire Business Institute was my curiosity for the world of business. I wanted to learn more about it, and UVA was the place where I could get the most hands-on experience to satisfy my curiosity.
Q: What was your favorite memory or accomplishment from your time at Inspire?
A: The accomplishment that sticks out to me the most from my time at Inspire was winning the pitch competition with my fellow startup co-founders. I was able to give the presentation and answer questions with Kohana. We worked hard and were immensely proud when we won the competition.
Q: What was your project?
A: Our project was the foundation of a company called ZapTrack. ZapTrack is a platform for high schoolers who are looking toward college to find opportunities to learn what they want to do in college while they are still in high school.
In the beginning, the six founding members struggled to have team cohesiveness. We wanted to create something amazing but didn’t know each other or our skills well enough to start. However, we got the ball rolling with a problem we had all faced in our high school careers. After that, we began to grow our idea and our team dynamics as we went. We figured out everyone’s capabilities and created something that won the competition we aimed to win.
Q: How did the Inspire class differ from other classes you’ve taken?
Q: How do you plan to use the skills you learned in the future?
A: In the future, I plan to apply the skills I gained at the Inspire program in my career starting in business. I learned some of the foundations of business, as well as technological and personal skills that will be useful in my college career and beyond.
Q: What advice would you give to future McIntire Business Institute students?
A: One piece of advice that I would give to incoming McIntire Business Institute students would be to commit fully to the project. If you give the thing that you’re working on your all, it will turn out better than you could have imagined. Since my time at Inspire, I’ve started my senior year of high school. I’m taking harder classes than ever, yet having more fun than I’ve had in my whole high school career. I’m in the process of submitting college applications, and because of the Inspire program, I’ve already submitted my UVA application. Because of the things I learned in McIntire, I’d like to pursue a career in marketing or economics.
Inspire is a UVA | Northern Virginia academic summer program for rising 10th-12th graders to explore new interests and skills. The McIntire Business Institute is a course where, in two action-packed weeks, students will move from idea to execution—learning what it takes to think like an entrepreneur and build something real. They’ll learn business fundamentals that strengthen their problem-solving skills and creative thinking while working with a team to launch their own startup. Inspire 2026 will be offering two sessions of the McIntire Business Institute.