Seven students from Westbrook Regional Vocational Center’s Tech II Business Program (and one former business student) attended the Virtual Enterprise (VE) Youth Business Summit in New York City on April 12, 2024, becoming one of thirty teams - out of more than 230 - to be recognized for their entrepreneurial sales pitch. WRVC business teacher Brenda Dolloff and WHS teacher Jon Whitehead are very proud of how professional and engaged the students were.
Nearly 4800 attendees and approximately 237 “firms” from eight countries took part in this culminating experience of a year-long entrepreneurship program. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, the students developed a company (recognized as a “firm” in the VE program) called Whip n Dip, participated in four national competitions (elevator pitch, e-commerce website, video commercial, and employee handbook), created social media, applied for a business loan, paid expenses (rent, utilities, payroll, taxes), purchased items from other VE firms, and analyzed their sales by downloading and organizing data using pivot tables, macros, and other Excel functions. By attending the Youth Business Summit, students were provided the opportunity to compete face-to-face with other firms, showcase their trade booth, and generate virtual sales with high school students from various states in the US, as well as Brazil, Austria, Indonesia, Germany, Bulgaria, Bermuda, and Romania.
Mustafa S., one of seven WRVC seniors who attended the Summit, said of his experience, “It was great and I really enjoyed it. I think VE should be offered to all students because it is very fun and a great opportunity to learn something new and helpful.” Tom L. enjoyed the Summit as well. “It was great to meet so many new people and learn about their businesses. It was also great to spend time with our classmates and get to know each other as well as we did.”
Whip ‘n Dip offered a simplified, unique food delivery system that would transform life on school campuses. The service offers a practical solution, bringing food directly to students and faculty via secure, code-bearing temperature-controlled lockers located outside on school campuses. To learn more about WRVC’s “virtual enterprise” point your browser to https://whipndip.wixsite.com/website.
Several of the students remarked on the usefulness of offering Virtual Enterprise experiences in all high schools. Lily D. found the coursework and Summit to be a valuable opportunity: “I really enjoyed the experience and the amount of things that we got to see and do. I definitely think that VE should be offered in all high schools; it was a great experience.” Jean Pierre O-M. echoed Lily’s enthusiasm, saying, “It was truly valuable, and I learned a lot. I strongly recommend offering VE as an elective for all high school students.”
The trip was funded by various sources supporting entrepreneurship education, student contributions, and a class fundraiser. Generous donations/grants for the program in the past few years were from Maine Technology Institute, Gorham Savings Bank, Saco & Biddeford Savings Bank, Unum, and Sappi.
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