Students from 13 schools to compete in business simulation at Cape Career and Technology Center

About 100 high school students will get a crash course in business today.

Students from 13 area schools will become chief executive officers and managers as they compete in a business simulation at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center. Five area Rotary Clubs, Junior Achievement and 27 other organizations came together to host the 17th annual Camp Enterprise.

During the daylong event, students complete a practice round, listen to speakers and mix up to form teams, said event chairwoman Brigitte Bollerslev of the Jackson Rotary Club.

"They really have to learn to work with some strangers," she said.

The program teaches them how to run a business. Students make decisions regarding marketing, hiring and pricing, said Merideth Pobst, Junior Achievement district manager for Southeast Missouri.

"All of these business decisions affect the bottom line like in a real business," Pobst said. Junior Achievement created the JA Titan software used on laptops for the simulation.

Students work in groups of six to eight. The competition, which lasts about two hours, is divided into quarters, Pobst said.

"Just like a regular business, they look at their quarter reports and adjust what they need to do," she said.

Four $500 scholarships and other prizes are awarded to the students, Bollerslev said.

Members of the business community also monitor and help the students, she said. The competition gives them a taste of real-world business practices and sometimes affects their career paths.

"After Camp Enterprise they changed their view," she said, referring to past students of the program.

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1080 S. Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, MO