High school students test business models in Camp Enterprise event

Teams of students from 12 area high schools competed Friday for bragging rights as the most business-savvy CEOs during Camp Enterprise, a daylong business education event at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center sponsored by local Rotary clubs.

The event, which targets high school juniors and seniors who have an interest in business, has a goal of helping students to understand how to cope in a business environment and develop a successful business model, said Brigitte Bollerslev, chairwoman of Camp Enterprise and member of the Jackson Rotary Club.

During the course of the day, teams of six randomly selected students competed to create the best outcomes for their business using a computerized business model simulation game called JA Titan, which is designed to teach high school students to run a company and learn to make smart decisions. Company performance is measured by an index that evaluates retained earnings, supply and demand potential, productivity, market share and growth. The two teams with the highest index score win.

JA Titan is a product from Junior Achievement, a not-for-profit organization that provides programs in business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics, financial literacy and career choice for students in kindergarten through high school.

Merideth Pobst, Junior Achievement district manager for Southeast Missouri, said JA Titan gives students a chance to make business decisions just like they would in the real world.

"Really, until you have some hands-on experience, that's a hard thing to do," Pobst said.

Mollina Stallings, a student at Notre Dame Regional High School and member of Team Zeus, said the game was a challenge. But with luck and the knowledge her teammate, Hunter Cox of Scott City High School, had from his computer class at the Career and Technology Center, their team won the first round.

"It's kind of like a guess-and-check-type game," said Hannah Bedwell, Stallings' teammate from Chaffee High School.

Stallings said the team's name came from the JA Titan game, because in Greek mythology the first generations of the gods, the Titans, were not successful leaders, although the second generation, led by Zeus, was.

Students who participate in the event are eligible to win one of four $500 college scholarships from the Rotary Club. Names of winners were randomly drawn during the day's events, which also included guest speakers Katherine Pei, coordinator for leadership development at Southeast Missouri State University, and Debbie Linnes, CEO of SoutheastHEALTH. Linnes spoke to the students about finding opportunities for leadership, establishing a clear goal for a company and engaging employees by understanding and listening to them.

Bollerslev talked to students about the goals of the Rotary clubs and the origin of the event, which she said was to use members' knowledge of business to help high school students.

Bollerslev said the event not only teaches students to face business challenges but provides an opportunity for them to make longtime friendships with their teammates.

Pertinent address:

1080 S. Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, MO