The high school’s Virtual Enterprise program boasts two teams this year: Fitness on Demand, a health and wellness company, and East Coast Entertainment, a party and entertainment firm.
Virtual Enterprise is a simulated course that allows aspiring entrepreneurs to create their own corporation and experience how an actual business works. Students create and price products, create company policies, organize financial statements and operate all aspects of a corporation. Firms from different schools around the world are able to interact and buy products from one another using the virtual currency gained through the sale of their products.
The Islip firms each consist of five departments that handle various aspects of the company: human resources, accounting, legal, marketing and IT. Each department has a department head and the company is overseen by a CEO. Students interview for a position of their choice.
“As someone who plans to have a future in entrepreneurship, VE is a vital resource where I can learn so much about business, establish real world connections and practice my leadership abilities,” said Fitness on Demand CEO Thomas Vitale. “More importantly, VE can open so many doors for anyone involved in the class, from scholarships to internships to jobs.”
“There are many benefits in taking VE,” said East Coast Entertainment CEO Connor Ruland. “VE allows us, the students, to work together in a real-life business setting by competing against other businesses just like in the real business world. We are able to learn many aspects of what it takes to operate and manage a successful company.”
This year, just as the rest of the world is adjusting to conducting business from various locations, the Islip VE students are learning another aspect of running a company during a pandemic. Since all students are not in school on the same days, they must collaborate through Microsoft Teams with their colleagues who are home, adjusting to a major change in the traditional workplace. VE students normally compete annually in various regional, national and international competitions, writing business plans to present to panels of judges regionally and nationally, but it is still unclear whether competitions this school year will take place virtually or in person.
“In the past, our VE classes have won numerous awards and at one time ranked eighth in the nation, and we are hoping for that same success this year,” said Joe Modica, the high school’s dean of student services.