Another day at the office

In The Classroom: Ken takes an occasional look inside our schools.

GOOSE CREEK -- Walk into room 101 at Stratford High School and enter the virtual world of work.

You're greeted by Essence Williams, the administrative assistant, who will introduce you to Norman Mayen, the chief executive officer of Unlimited Possibilities.

"This is an online grocery business run by students," said Mayen, a senior. "We sell groceries to other schools in seven states. Even though everything is virtual, it's a very real-life experience."

It's all part of a program called Virtual Enterprise, a national network of high schools, including 40 in South Carolina, that offer products and services to each other so students can learn the ropes of business.

This firm is made up of 24 students who fill positions in accounting, purchasing, marketing, advertising and human resources.

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"This class teaches students those interpersonal skills you can't teach out of a textbook," said Debbie Castles, the program coordinator. "A lot of the problems they encounter in this class are the same ones they will encounter in the workplace. It's a real eye-opening experience for them."

Finding a niche

The cubicles in this classroom are filled with students like Stasha Johnson, vice president of accounting, who is working on payroll.

Over in purchasing, Jarrett Chaplin is searching the system for competitive prices on chairs while Trey Gadson looks for office phones.

In marketing, Anthony Crisanto crafts the company's catalog while Michael Daniels designs a brochure for Thanksgiving specials.

Meanwhile, Heather Ruehle and Ashley Clark collaborate on an ad layout while Joshua Odom in human resources works on the company newsletter.

While computing some cost projections for the company, Sydney Smalls smiled and said, "You know, I really like this stuff. I think I've found my niche!"

Real world

In its fifth year at Stratford, this program provides a glimpse into the world of business. It's so realistic, they even have a water cooler.

"Maybe they've had accounting, marketing or web-based design," Castles said. "But here they get to see how all these components work together in a business."

This virtual business caters to other programs at other schools across the country that provide all the items each business needs to survive.

And there is competition, so each class must learn to position its product in the market.

There's also a financial literacy aspect whereby students are paid virtual salaries to purchase apartments, cars and insurance and do it all on a budget.

"Some of the students say 'I can't live on this!' " Castles said with a laugh. "And I tell them, welcome to the real world."