Bronxville High School Students Lead the Way With Innovative Mini Electives

At Bronxville High School, student-driven learning is taking center stage. A group of ambitious students has designed and is leading their own mini elective courses – offering their peers in-depth explorations of topics they are passionate about. These unique, student-taught courses reflect a commitment to academic curiosity, leadership and peer-to-peer engagement.

Junior Iris Donovan developed an East Asian studies elective with a focus on China while sophomores William Glaser and Rishaan Brainch created a course on game development. Senior Marcus Jun, drawing on his own entrepreneurial experience, designed a course on launching your own nonprofit organization. 

Donovan’s elective provides a deeper, more nuanced perspective on China than what is traditionally covered in social studies courses. Having lived in both Hong Kong and Beijing, she brings personal insights to discussions on history, culture and China’s evolving global role. Her course encourages critical thinking, debate and exploration of diverse viewpoints.

“My main goals were to challenge common misconceptions while debating different perspectives, introduce students to key historical and cultural developments, and encourage analytical discussions about China’s global influence,” she said. “I believe I was able to achieve my goal by garnering interested students and allowing them to share and connect over common interests.”

She structured the course to be discussion-based and included a variety of sources, from historical documents to contemporary media, to reflect the various sides of China.

“The most rewarding part of teaching this elective is seeing students debate about topics and show their interest in broader themes such as foreign policy, East Asian culture and international relations, which I am all deeply interested in,” Donovan said. 

Jun’s elective, meanwhile, equips students with the tools to transform their passions into tangible social impact. Inspired by his own journey in launching a nonprofit, Novelty Innovations, he designed a curriculum that walks students through idea development, scaling strategies and pitching to potential funders. A key highlight of the course is that students in his class are eligible to apply for funding through the Bronxville School Foundation’s LUSY grant, empowering them to bring their initiatives to life.

Through the course, Jun challenged each student to create a tangible nonprofit initiative by the end of the course. 

“As we near the end of the elective, we are focusing on equipping students with the skills needed to effectively present their ventures,” he said. “Seeing their progress – from initial brainstorming to fully developed pitches – has been incredibly rewarding, and I believe we’ve successfully met our objectives.”

Each class builds upon the previous one, covering essential topics such as idea generation, product development, fundraising and community engagement. He also prioritized topics that were particularly impactful in his own journey – such as networking, securing funding and measuring impact – so that students could gain practical, real-world insights.

“The most rewarding part of teaching this elective has been witnessing students’ growth – not only in their social venture ideas but also in their confidence as changemakers,” he said. “Beyond individual progress, it’s been fulfilling to see how the class has evolved into a collaborative hub where students inspire and support one another in their missions to create meaningful impact.”

These student-led electives exemplify Bronxville’s commitment to fostering leadership, innovation and critical thinking.