Business meets classroom. That is exactly what the new Virtual Enterprise class is all about. Except it’s not a regular college-credited class–we operate as a real business. When students come inside the classroom, Ms. Horvath, East Rockaway’s beloved business teacher, reminds us all that she’s no longer our teacher and we’re no longer students. We’re employees.
For years, Ms. Horvath has tried to introduce this class into our school. Now that it’s finally here, what is it actually like? And how does it work? Virtual Enterprise transforms a classroom into an office and students into employees. The goal of the class is to develop a comprehensive business plan that will be pitched at trade shows and competitions against other schools. The simulated company can also pitch to investors, and if they’re interested in the business and mission, the class can be granted funds to support it. This will be East Rockaway’s first year competing, but it surely sets the stage for what’s to come.
What’s especially exciting about V.E. is that it’s organized into departments that are typically found in a regular business organization: Marketing, Financial, Human Resources, Sales, and Administration. While there are diverse positions you can apply for within these departments, several aim to reach for functional roles such as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), and more. These executive positions make up the company’s C-Suite–it’s top management team–which is why they were in such high demand within our current group. 
However, before obtaining any positions, each student had to go through the full job application and interview process. Here’s what that was like for our team:
Prior to applying to any position, we had to create a resume highlighting our current experience and skills. Along with the resume, we also wrote a cover letter, a one-page document that details interest in the job and why we’d be a good fit. Lastly, we completed a job application, another document that goes deeper into our past or current work experience. However, this was only the easy part. For me, at least, the job interviews were tougher to prepare for, especially since the people conducting the interviews were the school’s very own administrators. 
To prepare for it, you really need to have a good sense of self-awareness: knowing your strengths, being able to articulate them confidently, and responding to different scenarios on the spot. We also learned professional etiquette, such as shaking the interviewer’s hand (we practiced those beforehand!) and asking thoughtful questions in the end. Many students, including me, had some nerves leading up to the interview, but most of us found that it wasn’t too bad the moment it was actually happening–some administrators even said they were highly impressed with the professionalism of the students they interviewed. 
After going through the process, I realized that having confidence in yourself and your abilities is key to acing a job interview.
This was only the beginning of East Rockaway High School’s first year in Virtual Enterprise. We still have the rest of the year ahead, and a long way of learning. Our business idea is also soon to be revealed, so stay tuned. To see which students got which roles, check out @missbizteacher on Instagram!
