How can the energy industry recruit 18- to 25-year-olds into careers spanning business and marketing to skilled trades and engineering? Just ask a group of high school seniors.
Every year, thousands of high school students take the knowledge they’ve gained in business and marketing classes and put it to the test through DECA – an international student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs through competitive events like role plays, written exams, case studies and presentations.
At the end of April, following a strong showing during the February state conference, 17 Anthony Wayne High School students will be among the 20,000 students competing in DECA’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta. Arjun Jayaraman, Aradhya Muthumula and AJ Rea will be among those competing – but they’ve already nabbed the No. 1 ranking for a unique opportunity through DECA.
Every year, corporations offer challenges for DECA students to compete for prize money, bragging rights and exposure to a variety of industries in exchange for fresh ideas from teens. In February, the trio learned they had bested around 100 entrants in the Power Perks Challenge, sponsored by the Center for Energy Workforce Development.
For Arjun and Aradhya, it’s the second time to take on this additional challenge. Last year, they placed second with a video and marketing campaign for the insurance industry. But they knew their video wasn’t top notch. So as the DECA competition heated up, they recruited first-year DECA student AJ Rea.
“Arjun is really good with the information. And I have experience with projects and rubrics. We tell AJ that he is the cinematic master,” Aradhya said, noting that AJ’s experience in photography, videography and theater boosted their project to the top.
The Power Perks Challenge asked teens to develop a compelling recruitment video about the energy industry, as well as engaging social media assets that showcase the opportunities and impact of energy careers.Â
To generate ideas for their campaign, the trio met with representatives of First Solar and videographer Jacob Stutz of MadAveGroup, a Toledo marketing agency. For the video, they filmed at Penta Career Center and other sites, using friends as talent, to craft a message that would appeal to Gen Z. In addition, the team had to present a business plan that included marketing metrics, timeline and budgets.
“Businesses are reaching out to these teenagers to get their input,” said Becky Stutz, who is the Penta Career Center marketing teacher at the Anthony Wayne High School satellite. “These three were the only ones in my class to take on this challenge.”
The three gained valuable experience and knowledge that will help them as they head to college. For Arjun, who plans an engineering career, it opened up his eyes to the variety of jobs in the energy sector. Aradhya, who will major in international business, said putting her DECA class knowledge to the test has shown her real world applications. And for AJ, shadowing Jacob and seeing the work of MadAveGroup gave him insight into what type of work he’d like to do after earning a degree in communication design from Miami University.
With the corporate challenge championship under their belts, the three can now focus on competing in other categories at the ICDC.
Alex Bischoff and Billy Dean earned their trip to Atlanta three ways: by earning second with partner Seth Gregory in the Virtual Business Challenge, finishing second in the Stock Market Game, and advancing in their Role Play project. But they can only compete in one category, and they opted for Virtual Business Challenge (VBC).
With the VBC, students are given a fictional person and must decide every aspect of running his or her life – how to earn or spend money, time management, what to eat, how long to sleep, how much exercise to get and how to handle finances for a virtual four-year period.
“It’s finding all of the tiny things in your schedule that everyone else can’t find,” Billy said.
“The simulation is more of a mental game,” Alex said. “It’s all about finding the one way to do it right before everyone else in the nation.”
For two weeks each in October and January, the three seniors logged 50 hours online – competing against hundreds of other teams to see who could end the session with the most money in the bank. Their second try landed them a slot at the nationals, where they will have just 15 minutes to run through a similar scenario.
The process of competing in this challenge provided the seniors with insight in how to manage their own lives, they agreed. While Seth is familiar with personal finance from his father and grandfather, he said the simulation taught him more about specific career paths and which ones would provide the best opportunities for expanding net worth. Alex and Billy operate a side businesses flipping trucks and ambulances for resale, and they saw a lot of similarities in the decisions they have to make in their business – always trying to find efficiencies in time and money.
DECA competitions and Penta-AW marketing and business classes provide knowledge and experience that will help as these students go on to college and careers, they agree.
“I’ve learned so much about my career and how I can better myself,” AJ said.
When she heads to college, Aradhya said she’ll feel more confident in knowing a lot of the business terms that will come up in classes. She credits Mrs. Stutz for giving the students a head start.
A 1987 AW graduate, Stutz took business and marketing classes from now-retired Penta teacher Larry Kelly, and decided that she wanted to follow in his footsteps. After earning a degree in marketing education, she taught classes at Penta Career Center, then at the Springfield High School satellite before heading up AW’s program after Kelly retired in 2007.
Over the years, she’s not only taught classes and supervised co-ops, but arranged overnight and day trips for competitions that put her students’ knowledge to the test.
“I love seeing the students go to these competitions,” she said. “I see the light bulbs coming on, the excitement, the disappointment and the ‘let’s bounce back’ attitude. All of those pieces make my heart full.
“The great successes in the competition is all because of the kids. I just give them the resources and they take it from there. These kids are awesome.”
After 33 years of teaching, Stutz will retire at the end of the school year. She was presented with the Ohio DECA Honorary Life Membership Award during the state competition in February. Jason Biniker, an AW-area resident who teaches marketing education at Penta, will take her place.
“He’s a great fit,” Stutz said.
Also qualifying for the ICDC from AW this year are: Garrett Smith, Maddock Hires, Miley Denman, Lydia Fabian, Ellison Lopez, Sophia Huhn, Madeline Johnson, Dalia Shordt, Brady Wells, Brady Zare, Josie Phillips and Ava Wepler.
