The TREP$ program, which kicked off in September, culminated in the TREP$ 2025 Marketplace, where our sixth-grade entrepreneurs set up shop in the Wharton Lessin Dining Hall to sell the wares they’d planned, received feedback on, prepped, and learned how to promote. Chef Alex Stanko advised the students who opted for food-based projects about what makes for a successful business. “With food, we’re never late,” he said, adding that it’s essential to “think about what you’re making and how best to do it.” Ellie S. ’32 and Jasmine Z. ’32, whose business was brown sugar boba tea, seemed to internalize these suggestions, as they were the first business to sell out during the Marketplace! “We both really love drinking boba, and [our final product] turned out really well,” said Ellie, who decided with Jasmine that it was best to sell a single, widely popular flavor. In addition to tasty cultural foods based on family recipes, hot wings, and decorate-your-own cupcakes and gingerbread cookies, students sold stickers, charms, 3D-printed toys, bedazzled claw clips, dessert-scented slime, tote bags printed with original art, and more. Innovation Coordinator Ms. Larionoff, who facilitated the program, said one of the biggest takeaways from TREP$ is that sixth graders “learn resilience” as they overcome obstacles that will inevitably crop up as they go through this process. The capstone is that teams will donate all proceeds to a charity of their choice—because we aim to “make it better” in our community!