Lynbrook High School hosts Long Island wide Virtual Enterprise Trade Show
More than 1,000 students from across Long Island made their way to Lynbrook High School on March 19 to pitch their fully realized business ideas for the annual Virtual Enterprise Trade Show.
Lynbrook’s second year hosting the event featured more than 70 Virtual Enterprise firms represented by 45 school districts who set up eye-catching displays to promote their products in the Lynbrook High School gymnasium. The teams’ interactive experiences and prizes were a draw in the hopes to receive funding for their simulated business proposal. In Virtual Enterprise courses, students collaborate to build a simulated business from the conceptual stage to a final realized pitch. Roles include those found in real-world businesses, including presidents, marketing campaigners, website managers and logo designers.
Each firm networked with others throughout the events, building valuable connections while sharing investments in their companies. In addition to fellow Virtual Enterprise students, Lynbrook High School staff members and students also received $5,000 Virtual Enterprise “credit cards” to help fund deserving propositions. Lynbrook students’ pitches included Smyle, featuring advanced electric toothbrushes that create a 3D model of your mouth, and Snooze, offering a range of “smart” sleep products. The Virtual Enterprise Program and Trade Show help high schoolers – and some middle schoolers – build entrepreneurial skills while forming connections across Long Island towns.
“Virtual Enterprise students gain real-world experience in business, entrepreneurship, teamwork, leadership and professionalism that will stay with them long after the Trade Show,” Ellen Palazzo, the Virtual Enterprise regional director for New York State and New England, said. “In VE we like to say, ‘Once in VE, always in VE,’ because the confidence, skills, and connections built through the VE experience truly last a lifetime.”
