After breakfast, students got together for a company meetings to go over business plans and to talk more about the products and services that will be presented on Thursday. Each company also created their company flags to represent their team and come together as a group. Students then gathered in Ritche Auditorium to hear the morning keynote address from Michael Keller who works for Pearson’s Candy Company. He talked about the anatomy of a brand. He stressed how the key to successful marketing and successful brand building is to figure out how your brand touches your consumers. He explained how consumers experience products by the product mix, the packaging, distribution, shelf presence, product quality and pre/ post purchase marketing. When he was done teaching us the ins and outs of brand building students went into their business plan break out sessions – divided into marketing, finance, and operations. After the break out sessions it was time for the MOCK INTERVIEWS!
Students waited nervously and patiently for their turn. Everyone looked so professional dressed in their business casual and holding their resumes. Companies practiced perfect handshakes and got in line for their turn to be interviewed. Once the mock interviews were over, Amanda Cashman from Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF) come to talk to everyone about engaging others through leadership in order to create positive life experiences. She then had all of us get up on stage and play an interactive game. We had to organize ourselves in an inner circle and outer circle. Amanda asked us questions such as “What is one goal you have for yourself?” and “Who is your biggest supporter?”. Students shared their answers with the person across from them in the circle. Amanda asked to hear some of the answers and students were eager to share. Amanda brought the microphone over to a girl to answer the question, “Who is your biggest supporter”. She shared with everyone that this person was her friend and she was at camp with her. She went into depth saying how her friend has always been there for her through the good and bad times, and how she can go to her friend for anything. Her friend ran over and they both embraced each other with a big hug- and a few tears were shed. It was the most heartfelt moment of the day.
Once Amanda was done asking everyone questions, we all went back to our seats so Amanda could wrap things up. She told us a story about when she was working at another camp and a student camper spoke at their assembly. The student camper shared his story about how lonely he felt at school. No one would talk to him or even acknowledge him. He said the saddest part of it all, was that no one noticed how miserable he was. His peers, teachers, or parents didn’t notice. One day at school, someone came up to him and asked him how he was doing. He said he stood in shock because he wasn’t used to anyone speaking to him. He started to feel a lot better about himself after that. He explained to everyone that it only took that one person to ask him how he was that made all the difference to him. And that’s exactly the point Amanda was trying to make through her speech, “It only takes ONE person to make a difference”.
The evening was busy with a company meeting where students got to work in depth on business plans and slogans. Camp got together over a lovely picnic dinner on the lawn by the Atwood Building and it was a nice break to be together as a group. After enjoying the great food and the fresh air students headed back to more company meetings where each branch of the company (marketing, finance, and operations) continued to work on their select areas of the product. Once 8:30 hit it was REC TIME! “The Underground” center at St. Cloud State was open to students to use unlimited bowling, billiards, and ping pong. Some students wanted to spend time outside at basketball court. Overall, the day was a really productive day and we all made many new friends.