164 students from 79 schools (including some in Wisconsin, Ohio, and California) arrived today at the St. John’s session of BestPrep’s Minnesota Business Venture and were greeted warmly and enthusiastically by Resident Business Leaders (RBLs), their company’s Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Dorm Monitors and other BestPrep staff. They efficiently moved from registration to obtaining dorm keys and other materials to moving into the dorms to eating lunch.
Scott Morris, the International Sales Development Manager for 3M, spoke to MBV participants about what it takes to be personally and professionally successful.
“Why are you here?” Morris asked the students in the audience. An appropriate question for the first day of camp.
Within their companies, students collaborated with their RBLs and CEOs to establish some ground rules for the week together and a slogan for identification for the rest of the week. Students also participated in various icebreaker activities, ranging from as simple as Rock, Paper, Scissors, to lining up by their birthdays. The bond between students is already starting to strengthen as they do more together.
David Clark, current President of the U.S. Yogurt Operating Unit for General Mills and past President of the Häagen-Dazs International Strategic Business Unit, graced us with speaking about the power of an individual with a vision. He describes the work of Häagen-Dazs founder Reuben Mattus and how he was able to turn the vision he had into an international luxury ice cream brand.
Tonight was JUNK NIGHT! Companies were placed into a lottery to pick out items from, well, junk. The task was then to come up with a product or service using every person in the company and every piece of junk they received. These products and services are then presented and judged.
Our winning products and services were a Magic Wand, a Portable Spray Tanning Booth, and the Amazing Transferring Wire.
All in all, the first day at St. John’s was a huge success! Check back for updates as the week progresses.