The annual roll-out of the DECISIONS booklet each January allows students a moment to assess their interests and explore new topics. Last year, the course catalog contained an addition to the business section: Virtual Enterprise. Its description drew in many students, declaring, “Each class will create a virtual business and as ‘employees’ will be accountable for its performance.” Unlike other business classes which focus on learning through lectures and traditional classroom activities, Virtual Enterprise offers hands-on experiences and gives students a peek into what working in business may look like in their futures.
Currently, there are two Virtual Enterprise courses, each consisting of around twenty students and taught by Mr. Zachary Stearns. The course is, for the most part, student-led, making it stand out from other courses at Greeley. Mr. Stearns, when reflecting on this first semester, emphasizes that “students really get out of [Virtual Enterprise] what they put into it,” and that “student ownership is an integral element of this course” that ensures students take accountability for their learning and begin to guide their studies based on their passions.
Each class has created their own business based around a new, innovative product that they worked together to prototype. In each business, students fill a role based on their interests. Castaway Luggage President Jared Stuart shares how positions within the student-led company are filled, and says, “We conduct interviews for the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and chief marketing officer, and once those positions are filled they will help interview all the other students for other roles.” Gauging students’ interests in specific fields helps encourage their progress in the class, so both companies put students into positions based on their curiosity. Stuart says, “If students show an extended interest in the department they are applying for, they will most likely get a position in that department.” The roles in different departments allow students to focus on jobs that they are more interested in and practice skills that are more applicable to their future career. Mr. Stearns explains, “Students can work in marketing, finance, or human resources based on their interests, which allow them to apply their learning to fields they are more interested in.”
The skills practiced in Virtual Enterprise are important not only because of their applications in business, but also in life. Pentec Marketing Associate Jayne Kim explains how the course has helped expand her skill set and says that “it has been such a cool experience working closely with other students and being in an environment where teamwork is the main aspect of the course.” The class has helped bring students together in an environment geared toward expanding their teamwork skills, which are important for roles in any workforce.
Throughout the year, there are multiple virtual trade shows which provide opportunities for high school Virtual Enterprise businesses throughout the region to showcase their work and encourage people to invest in their business. All students and teachers involved in the course have access to an online “hub” where they can view other courses’ businesses and invest with virtual money. Mr. Stearns says, “The online hub is so cool because students can see what other students are working on, and share ideas and business strategies.” The course culminates in an end-of-year, in-person trade show with about 100 participating businesses. “You are actually applying the work you have done into a real world environment,” Kim explains when describing the trade shows, which help students better prepare for a possible future in the business industry. The trade shows exemplify the real world application of the course, and allow Virtual Enterprise to stand out among other business classes at Greeley.
The central focus of Virtual Enterprise is to educate students on business skills through applied learning, which helps stimulate further student interest in business and the course itself. Stuart confidently proclaims, “I have learned more from this class than any other course at Greeley.” The application of business skills to their projects helps prepare students for future careers in any discipline.