Generation Next
Win, Win, Win
Article Contents
- Generation Next
- Shazad Mohamed, 15
- Kayla Stewart, 19
- Stephen R. Gordon, 18
- Chris Delany, 19
- Rishi Bhat, 18
- David Marks, 18
- Devin Lazerine, 18
- Ashley Powers, 17
- Michael Podraza, 16
- Elise & Evan Macmillan, 14 & 16
- Win, Win, Win
While work for most high school students generally takes on the
form of a part-time job, teenagers do more than merely make up a
highly attractive demographic for businesses—they create
businesses, too. Thanks to a partnership between California high
schools; California State University, Chico; and businesses in
Northern California, the student-led Students In Free Enterprise
(SIFE) organization at Chico State is able to organize and host
high schools for their International Trade Fair. Revolving around
the ideals of entrepreneurship, business and economics, the
competition is based on the judged presentations of projects and
can be a combination of three types: entrepreneurship, virtual
enterprise and/or community outreach. Each high school SIFE team is
given a mentor from Chico State SIFE, which helps them create and
develop project ideas. Oakland's Fremont High School Business Academy's
Cal-High SIFE team wowed a panel of judges this March and took
first place in the competition. Their entrepreneurship project,
dubbed BOMBAST (Business Operations Management Business Academy
Student Team), provides more than 100 students and staff daily with
a lunch program that offers additional food service at lunchtime
and has reduced after-lunch truancy. Their community service
project is a tutoring program, and they also have a business card
service called CardEx, found at www.fhs.homestead.com. Being that it's the Fremont SIFE team's first year in
existence, their win was truly a sweet victory against the 22 other
high schools. "The reason we won was, everyone had a job to
prepare for this. It was a true team effort," shares Amy
Carpenter, director of the Business Academy for Fremont High
School. Content Continues Below
Awarded $600 and an opportunity to send four team members to
Seattle to watch the CSU Chico SIFE team at the SIFE Regional
Competition, the teens found the entire experience inspiring.
"When they announced we won, it was mayhem—the students
jumped up and down; they were screaming," Carpenter recounts.
"Oakland gets such a bad rap for low test scores and truancy.
This really meant a lot in changing [how we are perceived]."
—April Y. Pennington
|
What makes a good client gift?
What guidelines do you follow when buying gifts for your clients? Have you ever received an unusual or inappropriate gift?
|