Learning life lessons

Marisa O’Neil

Budding entrepreneurs at Davis Education Center got a lesson in big

business Tuesday during Junior Achievement Day.

Representatives from Pepsi Co., spoke to students in each class

about free enterprise, the economy and how businesses operate.

Visitors run the classes for half of the day using lessons that

follow a curriculum set up by Junior Achievement, an organization

that teaches students about business and enterprise, and brings them

together with working professionals.

“These people come from all walks of life and do different jobs,”

Assistant Principal Judy Burgess said. “It’s good for these students

to have a role model giving them their expertise.”

Students learned about sales, advertising, marketing and the

basics of starting a business. They also learned how to land the job

they want, said Vice President and General Manager of Pepsi Bottling

Craig Reese.

In his class, students went through the application process, job

qualifications and conducted mock interviews, showing examples of the

good, the bad and the ugly of job-seeking. Saying you like to sleep

late and play video games all day is not going to get you that dream

job, Reese warned.

The students caught on quickly and pointed out mistakes in the

“bad” interview.

“They did a fake interview,” explained 9-year-old Adam Stanton,

who wants to be a computer technician. “The lady walked up to the

manager and was chewing gum. We mentioned that that was rude.”

Although the working world and first job interview are still years

away, Reese said that early preparation will help cement their

learning.

“We tell them that those behaviors and attitudes start today,” he

said.

“This is really good because we get to learn what it’s like in the

real world,” said 9-year-old Hayley Price, who wants to be a

children’s therapist.

But even people who work for a multi-national conglomerate like

Pepsi realize that elementary school students can be a tough crowd.

“People who have been in sales for 30 years still get nervous

talking to kids,” Reese said. “They can do presentations in front of

400 people, but when you get in front of 20 fourth-graders, that’s a

different story.”