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New Castle County high school students took their first steps toward college this summer. Although they are only sophomores and juniors and still have time to decide where they want to apply, the team took a closer look at the University of Delaware and the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics in July.
Lerner faculty and staff were happy to oblige during the college’s first Summer Business Discovery Camp. The hope of the camp is to lay the groundwork for UD and Lerner College to attract Delaware’s best and brightest.
“This was the one thing I was hoping would happen this year,” said Anu Sivaraman, assistant professor of marketing and acting chair of the Learner Diversity Council (LDC), who hosted the camp.
The week-long camp included seven students interested in learning more about business from high schools such as Howard High in Wilmington, Caravel Academy in Bear, Dale Castle High School in New Castle and Wilmington Charter High School.
Some of the campers come from underrepresented populations in Delaware. Some will be first-generation college students if they decide to go. All are between the ages of 15 and 17. Every day from 10am to 3pm, students spend class time recruiting and mentoring students and faculty, faculty going above and beyond lesson plans, and a fun reception and lunch with Dean of Learners Bruce Weber. The camp was free and transportation for students was provided by Lerner.
“The idea of the camp is to give students a tasting menu, a little bit of everything,” Sivaraman said. “You feel for what you learn in a business course. You feel for the campus, the college and the people.
She urged students to ask questions and not be afraid to speak up during class sessions.
“Think of this as a very personalized, very personalized introduction to university,” she says. “We saw 10-15 or more students with their parents on campus tours. It’s more personal and more profound.”
Sivaraman Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems Catherine Bercow and Lerner Events Coordinator Nicole O’Neill supervised the camp.
Students received an introduction to topics from accounting to entrepreneurship, toured the Geltezeller Trading Center and sat down for a presentation about the popular and successful student organization Blue Hen Investment Club. The campers worked with teachers to create personal LinkedIn pages and had their photos taken by a professional photographer.
Weber talked to students about how much money Lerner graduates earn upon graduation, famous Lerner and UDD alumni who have made strides in the world, and the history of the university. He also gave an example of how a creative business mind solves problems, which students are taught in business school. He gave an example of how the music industry and streaming platforms took a serious hit in revenue.
“There are many different things we do to expose our students to business ideas in college,” Weber said. “We’re an important college, well-connected in the state, but we like to keep things personal to get to know our students.”
During the week, they toured the entire UD campus and toured the residence halls to get a better understanding of what college life is like. Students are judged at the end of the camp and tasked with creating a pitch for a new business product or service. Lerner provided each student with gift bags loaded with UD swag and hosted daily luncheons at several campus-area restaurants, such as UD Creamery and Grotto’s Pizza.
“I feel like you can learn a lot from this camp, even though it’s basic, it’s a lot of knowledge that you have,” said Siya Patel, a junior at Caravel Academy. She wants to study business as an undergraduate before going to law school to become a corporate lawyer.
“Even if you don’t know what you want to do, just getting that basic information is a big help, and having different professors and people who are experts in their fields to talk to us really helps. ” said Patel. They are very good at describing what it is like in the real world.
Patel said she’s adding UD to her list of schools because of her experience at camp and because it’s so close to home.
Kenya Miller is a junior at Howard High School in Wilmington, where she is already taking business courses, and will soon be certified in Excel. She learned about the camp from her business instructors at the school and quickly applied.
“It was a great experience,” Miller said as she laughed and chatted with other campers as she walked across the green on their way to visit a dorm. “I’m silent. I’m an introvert but I’ve met some people and it’s cool. And if you want to learn about business and love business classes, you should come here.
Even though he wants to leave Delaware for college, Caravel student Eramy Bochway said he’s been here his whole life, so he’s been considering UD as a possible option. And if he’s applying to UD, Lerner might as well apply.
“I was thinking of doing something in business, like entrepreneurship or accounting, but I want to be a pilot,” he said.
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