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From 7-10-08 Herald Business camp prep's tomorrow's Carnegies
Saturday, July 12, 2008
1:07 PM
By RICK GUINNESS
Herald staff
'Business camp preps tomorrow's Carnegies "
NEW BRITAIN - Two weeks in summer business camp have transformed 30 middle-
school students into entrepreneurs and investment analysts ready to tackle Wall
Street. The $15,770 collaborative crash course, held at Central
Connecticut State University on marketing, business management and economics,
turned a subject area that tends to be dry into something kids 10 to 12 years
old can enjoy, without watering down the content. It was amazing to watch
the transformation during the second week, when some of the shyest students -
the ones who were afraid to raise their hands and who spoke so softly no one
could hear them - turned into Dale Carnegie-like motivational speakers.
Management professor Dave Fearon kept it fun, holding their attention and making
it easier for the kids to grasp concepts most college seniors have trouble
understanding. Among Fearon's techniques was showing students how to use a
Bloomberg terminal - a computer loaded with investment tools providing
extensive, real-time information about stocks and businesses. "You can
check a particular business and see how it is doing, track it and see a trend,"
he told the students, who were gathered in a classroom at the university's Vance
Academic Center. Above the students, on the perimeter of the walls near the
ceiling, was a ticker tape display. The images flowed continuously and gave the
room a Wall Street mood. "Since we became a class, Starbucks announced
layoffs of 2,501 people," Fearon said out of the blue. "Why did their stock
price rise?" "Because they got rid of the stores that were losing money,"
one student said. "Right on!" Fearon replied. The student went on to say too
many Starbucks had been built too close each other - and noted another factor,
the price of gas. When faced with a choice of buying a cup of Starbucks coffee
or gas to get to work, most people would buy the gas, one student said. The
professor wore a look of supreme satisfaction as students continued to answer
questions like graduate students. "They have been on fire," Fearon said.
"I hope they carry it with them when they start high school in the fall." The
students were interested in a wide variety of vocations, such as veterinarian,
computer technician, prosecutor, musician and mechanical and computer engineer.
Tobi Oni-Orisan, a city eighth-grader who wants to be a pediatric surgeon, was
more than satisfied with the class. "I am learning the skills that I need to get
me where I need to be," he said. Fearon grabbed an envelope filled with
dollar bills and distributed them. "You can save it, spend it, invest it in the
market or invest it in your own business," he told the student Ten said they
would save it, a dozen said they would invest it and the rest opted to invest in
their own businesses.
Adria Amos, an 11-year-old student who is entering seventh grade in the fall,
said she learned the most from the Bloomberg terminal. She said she likes to
monitor stocks to see if they go up or down. To look at Adria, one would think
she was an adult. She wore a black-and-white print dress to class and carried
herself like a businesswoman. "I incorporate my own style into my clothes
so that I can market myself," she said. "I think I would make a good fashion
designer." But she isn't looking for investors. "I want to make my own money,"
she said. "I don't like borrowing money. But sometimes you need to. "As soon as
I heard about this camp, I signed up," she said. "I learned a lot through this
course, such as how to remember names. We learned to add adjectives to the
person's name and connect them with something." With professor Fearon, she said
she thought of Bugs Bunny, who says "What's up, doc?" because it's his doctoral
degree to which she connects the name. "I can remember 17 names," she said
proudly.
The only time Fearon's students behave like children is at the end of one of his
stress tests. In one, he had the students break into three groups of 10.
Each group was asked to pass a bean from one student to the next until they had
passed it around the full circle. The catch is that the students can use only
their right index fingers. (The secret to passing the bean is to press fingers
together and flip them in sync, then carefully remove the finger on top.) "It's
a real collaboration," he said. "They have to work together or the bean will
fall off." He said the students learn to "make sure you are with good people who
can get the job done." During the stress tests, Fearon yells out the time
and makes sure there are enough distractions in the hallway to make the
students' hands shake."40 seconds," he intones. The students scream and jump up
and down. "10,9,8," he said. "We won!" shouts the group that passed two beans
around its circle.They had the same level of enthusiasm for their marketing
projects, which included high-tech sneakers, military robots and an "eco-pen"
that writes with environmentally friendly ink.
To learn more about how ITBD can help your business grow by building
relationships and participating in networking opportunities, please call: (860)
832-0700
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