Today was our first full day of Minnesota Business Venture! The theme for today was “Career Day” and students learned what it takes to explore careers, invest in themselves, and look toward their futures. Today wouldn’t be possible without the support of The Arby’s Foundation and Arby’s Restaurant Group. We are so thankful for all their help today and throughout the years. Now, let’s get right into it!
Career Day started with company meetings followed by an extremely engaging keynote from Mike Happe, President and CEO of Winnebago Industries, titled ‘Developing Your Brand! He is responsible for the overall vision and strategic direction of the company, and especially accountable for nurturing and strengthening a culture that cares deeply for its employees and customers which showed in his keynote today. During the presentation he gave a positive view of how the company’s sales grew during the pandemic and how they give people a good reason to go outside.
After the keynote, students took part in another MBV tradition: Camp Jam! Camp Jam is the ultimate team-building experience, filled with activities, challenges, and even some brand development. Campers had to use their communication skills to work their way out of a human knot, figure out each of their skills, and be creative with how they would brand themselves.
Following Camp Jam and lunch, we attended the Career Expo and breakout sessions. The Career Expo is an opportunity to meet professionals from organizations around the Twin Cities. The campers get to choose which profession they are interested in and attend a short presentation. The presenters talk about what they do, how they interest consumers, and the different opportunities they have working for their company. The campers also got to take some products with them to get a better understanding of what the professionals work with. The organizations we heard from included: Minnesota Heath Fairview/Ebenezer Senior Living, Ecolab, 3M, SPS Commerce, UnitedHealth Group, Shapco Printing, and Polaris.
During the career skills breakout sessions students heard about topics like public speaking, technology, resumes, and interviewing. We’re so thankful for the volunteers from Ecolab, University of St. Thomas, H2o For Life, and Optum Technology.
Today was filled with fun memories and campers got to learn so much about career opportunities. They are tired but ready for another fun day tomorrow. Once again, thank you so much Arby’s Foundation and Arby’s Restaurant Group for this successful day!