ST PAUL, Minn. — Right now, countless kids are enjoying summer camps, and at Bethel University, there's a unique camp that's giving high school seniors a preview of life in the real world.
The Bethel Business Academy, now in its ninth year, gives seniors a crash course in the basics of business.
The three-day camp includes breakout sessions, activities and demonstrations that feature local business professionals from a variety of career paths.
Sydney Roberts is a junior at Bethel. She is also counselor in the program, and was once enrolled in the program as a student.
“I told them I was in your shoes two years ago,” Roberts laughed.
“It’s great for them to see someone they can relate to, who is now in college, and it’s great for me to meet incoming students and learn more about their interests and ideas.”
Roberts understands how intimidating senior year of high school can be for students who don’t know what they want to be when they grow up.
“You’re always hearing people say ‘you’re graduating high school, cool, OK, what are you going to do for the rest of your life?” Roberts explained.
“I remember early in high school I wanted to be a dermatologist and I shadowed for three hours, and I decided nope, not what I’m going to do.”
Jonas Brathen-Johnson, an incoming senior at Roseville Area High School, says the business academy gave him the opportunity to rule out different career paths that don’t fit his interest.
"We’re able to meet real businesspeople who do it on a daily basis and hear what their daily lives are like,” Brathen-Johnson said.
Finley Potthoff, an incoming senior at Cathedral High School in St. Cloud, says the academy also introduced new careers she has never considered before.
"We got to hear from an entrepreneur, and I thought that was really cool, starting her own business,” Potthoff said.
At the end of the three-day camp, students have a wealth of knowledge they can take with them into senior year, to help them make the tough decisions about life after high school.
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