Students in the Ulster BOCES Career & Technical Center’s Web-Based Entrepreneurship & Business (WEB) program were fascinated with a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the AT&T retail store in the town of Ulster. 

During a field trip sponsored by Junior Achievement (JA) of the Mid-Hudson region, a local chapter of the non-profit group that works to build partnerships between the business community, educators, and volunteers, students were able to learn from professionals in the telecommunications industry about this career area. 

Dan Jarrett, area retail sales manager, introduced students to the philosophy of the AT&T company, including the recruiting, operations, marketing, and technical aspects. Although AT&T recruits and hires its sales and marketing staff based on a number of factors, Jarrett told students they were headed in the right direction by honing their business skills through the Ulster BOCES WEB program. “The most important skills in today’s business world are analytical skills,” Jarrett told students. “How well do you process data?”

The analysis of data, as well as introducing students to business concepts such as marketing and advertising, corporate structures, accounting, economics, and business math, are all a part of the WEB course, says Ulster BOCES instructor Joe DiCarlo. The field trip helped students to move beyond their perspective as consumers to the vantage point of a businessperson, he says. 

Students are currently engaged in a competition with Virtual Enterprise (VE), a web-based contest that allows them to engage in an online competition with other high school students across the globe. This simulated business model engages students in every aspect of a running a business, including human resources, accounting, product development, production, distribution, and marketing and sales, as they engage in trade with other practice firms around the world. This simulation enables students to understand how employees, workgroup teams, and departments interact with each other and work together for the goal of the company. 

“I’m taking the Ulster BOCES WEB course because I want to keep my options open,” says a Kingston High School senior, who plans to major in business in college. The student said the field trip gave him a new perspective on the cellular service industry.  

DiCarlo emphasized that it is this practical experience that makes the Ulster BOCES WEB program valuable for his students. “We aim to give them the tools to compete and to instill in students the basic business concepts that they can build upon.”