Home Schools Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District Mattituck students garner real-life business acumen in new class

Mattituck students garner real-life business acumen in new class

The four young people standing in the Mattituck High School auditorium were polished, well-spoken, and professionally dressed. They could have been any young, up-and-coming team, working in any corporate environment around the country, pitching a new product and outlining a cutting edge business plan.

But, despite their professional demeanor, the four were not full-time employees — all were still high school students.

Four members of Mattituck High School’s new elective, a virtual enterprise class, came before the board of education Thursday night to demonstrate what they’ve learned.

Mattituck High School Principal Shawn Petretti said less than a year ago he’d asked the BOE to introduce two electives, including the virtual enterprise class.

Petretti said he wanted to update the board on “how that investment’s paying out, and to demonstrate the success of the elective.”

The class is taught by Lu Anne Nappe, he said, and the focus is on students creating and running a corporation. “They learn about the business world and the virtual world,” he said.

Students Marisa Sannino, Ben Savercool, Tori Ireland and Courtney Benediktsson described the class, which has imbued them business skills as they created a virtual company BodyKinetics, a gym “that captures a large amount of kinetic energy from every day exercise into renewable energy that can be used to power workout equipment, your electronic accessories, and even buildings. Using products that are powered by kinetic energy, consumers not only save money, they stay fit,” student-produced promotional materials state.

All money used is virtual, the students explained.

Each student was interviewed for their virtual post, teaching job interview skills, and each student received an individual position and tasks.

The students spoke about management and execution, current economic conditions nationwide, an industry analysis, both virtual and real, a competitive analysis, a target market and market segmentation, products, product placement, promotion, positioning, a break-even analysis, financial data, and business risks.

The students are also competing in their first competition Friday in Farmingdale, where judges will weigh how well they understand their business and the concepts used to build the corporation.

Sannino said she hopes to study business and the class has helped her to pinpoint marketing as a major;

“This class shows you what the business world is all about without actual risk,” Savercool said.