KNOXVILLE — Twenty-eight high school students from Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina will arrive at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, on Saturday, July 10, for a week-long program that allows them to explore the world of business and possible business careers.
This is the third year for “Business Education for Talented Students” (BETS), a program that allows students from communities underrepresented in the business world to learn more about business career opportunities. Over the past three years, 68 high school students have participated in this no-cost program.
The students will attend presentations by UT faculty members and business experts to learn about the various business majors offered in UT’s College of Business Administration including accounting, finance, marketing, economics, human resource management, public administration, enterprise management, logistics and statistics.
The students also will attend presentations on topics such as dressing for success, funding a college education, personal finance, enhanced writing skills and marketing the Vols. They will engage in team-building activities, such as a ropes course, and take field trips to accounting firm LBMC, SunTrust, Ruby Tuesday’s corporate offices and to meet with Russ Jensen, director of 311 Knoxville, the city’s customer service call center.
The week will conclude with the “Marketplace” competition, a team-based, business-simulation game that allows the students to “run” a company as business professionals.
“Two of the reasons we host BETS is to introduce high school students to the opportunities our college offers and to allow participants to become familiar with UT and college life,” said Tyvi Small, the college’s coordinator of diversity initiatives. “We know that the program works. Sixteen of last year’s 30 attendees will be attending UT this fall; two of whom were awarded the $1,000 Sarah Louise Motts/BETS Scholarship for enrolling as pre-business majors. Four from the 2008 class of 10 attendees entered UT Knoxville as freshmen.”
This year’s participants include 18 young women and 10 young men with an average GPA of 3.67 (out of 4.0). All are rising seniors who were nominated by counselors or community members.
Of the 28 attendees, 25 are from Tennessee, representing 13 high schools from the Knoxville and Memphis areas; there is one student attending each from Charlotte, N.C.; Ellenwood, Ga.; and Statesboro, Ga.
Funding for the 2010 BETS program is provided by the PepsiCo Foundation as part of its $350,000 five-year grant to the college’s diversity efforts.
For more information about the UT Knoxville College of Business Administration, visit http://bus.utk.edu.
Story and photo opportunities during BETS are as follows:
Saturday, July 10
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Ropes course; New Horizons Center, 4312 Aylesbury Drive
Sunday, July 11
10:20 a.m. to noon — Dress for Success fashion show; 301 Haslam Business Building
Monday, July 12
9 to 11 a.m. — LBMC corporate office visit; 10024 Investments Drive, Suite 200
Tuesday, July 13
9 to 11 a.m. — Economics simulation, buying and trading oil; 301 Haslam Business Building
Noon to 1:30 p.m. — Meeting with Russ Jensen, 311 director; City County Building
Wednesday, July 14
10 to 11 a.m. — SunTrust corporate office visit; 9950 Kingston Pike
Thursday, July 15
11 to 11:30 a.m. — “Marketing the Vols,” Neyland Stadium East Club, UT campus
Friday, July 16
9 to 10:45 a.m. — Ruby Tuesday corporate office visit; 150 West Church Ave., Maryville
12:30 to 2:15 p.m. — Building an aircraft simulation; 301 Haslam Business Building
Saturday, July 17
10:30 a.m. to noon — MarketPlace game presentations; 301 Haslam Business Building.
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C O N T A C T :
Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, craines1@utk.edu)