The Academy juniors taking Business Strategies had the amazing opportunity to travel to NBC Studios in New York and participate in a SuitUp competition. SuitUp is an education nonprofit organization that aims to increase career preparedness for all students by hosting and organizing fun, engaging, and innovative business competitions.

For this competition, students in the Business Strategies class were split into groups and given a problem to solve. In their case, their goal was to develop a way to improve the media company Peacock and figure out how to attract a younger audience.

What made the whole project more interesting was that they had to meet all of the requirements within their allotted time. Among the group of students, members who work at NBC were also there to help them through this exercise. They had to brainstorm, plan, summarize their ideas, create a poster, and pitch their ideas to NBC executives.

Presentation and public speaking were key skills that students got to practice and improve on. While some students are familiar with presentations, for others, it was nerve racking. Junior Eileen Najafov explains that this was her “first time in a business competition,” so she was a bit anxious. However, since she was with her fellow classmates and friends, it made things a little less daunting.

Everyone did a great job on their presentation, and Mrs. Radzieski expressed how happy and pleased she was to see her students collaborating to make these wonderful pitches. Most students have never been in such a professional establishment, which meant that this was also a great opportunity for them to see what the workplace is like, how people dress, and ask NBC members about any questions they have about the business world.

Overall, the Business Strategies field trip to NBC was a great experience for all the students that helped them learn many valuable skills regarding presentations, communication, problem solving, and more. Thank you to Mrs. Radzieski, Mrs. Burgin, and the other administrators who helped make this field trip possible.