NYC Trip Prepares Murrieta Students for Business Success

Murrieta Valley High School students who aspire to work in the business world someday are getting a taste of the corporate environment.

That taste was sweetened this school year when juniors and seniors in the school's Virtual Enterprise program were invited to compete in an International Trade Show as part of the 2012 Youth Business Summit, held March 27-29 in New York City.

To get the invitation to New York—a first for Murrieta Valley since it started the Virtual Enterprise program four years ago—the class had to qualify at a state trade show held in December in Bakersfield.

"Students create a real-life business plan—including financing it with investors and loans—and then present their PowerPoint to the judges," said Joel Levin, Virtual Enterprise teacher at

In New York, the Murrieta Valley students presented their business plan before judges representing companies such as Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase.

They needed to make the top five at Bakersfield in order to advance to New York, Levin said.

"For the past two years we have made it to the top 16, but not the top five," Levin said. "Last year, we were in sixth place."

Junior Kristen Wolf, who was "hired" as CEO of the student-run business, Play by Play Productions, described the moment they learned they would be going to New York.

"It was amazing, I felt so accomplished," Kristen said. "It is something I am going to hold onto for a long time."

To become CEO of the student company, Kristen went through an extensive interview process that included creating a resume, gathering letters of recommendation and even meeting with the school district superintendent.

After upper management was selected, those students appointed the remainder of their classmates to company departments.

Setting her sights on CEO came naturally for Kristen, who next year plans to apply to University of California campuses in Los Angeles and Berkeley to study business administration.

"I've been interested in business for a while now," she said, adding that she has has also held leadership positions in her school band.

This year's class brought together students of all types, she said. Many were those she would not have normally had the chance to interact with on campus.

But she took it all in stride.

"I would like to think I'm the easy-going CEO," she said.

Play by Play Productions was designed as a website that produced videos of school events such as sports and performing arts. The company made profits when customers, such as coaches, downloaded the videos to examine for areas of improvement, Kristen explained.

In addition to applying for job positions in the beginning of each school year, students also narrow down their business plan from ideas created from scratch.

For the future business major, it was a perfect fit.

"Sometimes we get lost in school and we don't know how reading and annotating is going to fit into our life later on down the road," Kristen said. "It is good to know this will apply to my real life."

While the Murrieta Valley team did not land in the top three in New York, Levin said their first appearance there was promising.

"They were presenting in front of some pretty high-powered people," he said. "From the whole experience, not just New York, they learn a lot of real world lessons about applying for jobs, the workplace and having a boss. There are a lot of interpersonal skills learned."

Levin explained that Virtual Enterprise is an elective in which students can earn college credits through an articulation agreement with Mt. San Jacinto College. It is ideal for students who aspire for a career in business or dream of starting their own company, he said.

There were 25 students this year, but interest has increased; Levin said he had to turn some students away for the coming school year.

"This was the fourth year we've had our program and each year we have really progressed," Levin said.