Business class meets with billionaire Mark Cuban
Mr. Cuban addresses Penn-Trafford High School students.
Teacher Kim Stefkovich reached out to Cuban months ago, after brainstorming some outside-the-box lesson plans. Having heard that Cuban receives between 700 and 1,000 emails daily and knowing his extremely busy schedule, she and her class were amazed and delighted when they received a reply from Cuban himself agreeing to meet with the class.
The topic of the meeting was leading during a pandemic. During the hour-long call, Cuban openly discussed his personal experiences and also fielded questions from the students.
In response to senior Maria Sholtes’ question “What’s your definition of success?” Cuban responded, “In terms of having a lot of money…you know money’s good but I know a lot of miserable rich people. So you’ve got to really be on a path where you’re excited about what you do and if you’re excited about going to school, you’re excited about working on your business, you’re excited about learning…then you’re successful and you’re going to stay successful your entire life.”
Senior Nick Dolney asked Cuban for his advice to young entrepreneurs. “Just go for it,” responded Cuban, “and be willing to learn. The worst thing you can do as a kid is just show up. The worst thing you can do as an adult is just show up.” He went on to emphasize that we can all control our effort, and that “nothing can stop you guys if you put your mind to it.”
The students received some valuable advice from Cuban and they feel extremely grateful and excited to have had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.