Students, alumni teach children about business

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Volunteers from Saunders College of Business and local companies will teach Rochester School District children in grades K-8 about business, economics and free enterprise.

Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology, Junior Achievement of Rochester and the Rochester City School District are teaming up for the ninth straight year to educate school children about business, economics and free enterprise.

More than 50 volunteers, including RIT students and alumni along with other professionals from the business community, will lead Junior Achievement classes for hundreds of children in grades kindergarten through eight. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, May 9, at Clara Barton School No. 2, 190 Reynolds St.

Each RIT alumnus and business professional will team up with a student from Saunders College who is majoring in a like field: accounting, finance, management, management information systems or marketing.

Paul Wisotzke ’88 (business management) said he participated in “JA in a Day” when it was launched in 2006. “When you link the life experiences of the alumni and other business professionals with those of the RIT students and the content of the JA program, you have a powerful combination with a potential to greatly impact the students,” said Wisotzke, QA Manager Access and Integration, Lenel Systems International Inc.

“The value of this program is that it provides the school children the opportunity to connect with successful college students and business professionals, and we all emphasize the importance of continuing your education to create and reach your career goals.”

Peter Rosenthal, associate director of student services at Saunders College, said it’s never too early to start familiarizing young people with business concepts.

“Our country’s free-market system depends on the contributions of, and decisions made by, citizens and workers,” said Rosenthal. “They make choices about their needs and wants based on quality, cost and time.”

Volunteers will facilitate hands-on lessons that vary by grade level—focusing on skills needed for specific jobs and how businesses use natural, human and capital resources from different regions, plus contrasting methods of production through role-play.

For more information, contact Peter Rosenthal at 585-475-7063 or prosenthal@saunders.rit.edu.

Note: One of nine colleges at RIT, Saunders College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB International) and enrolls more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students. Saunders College and its entrepreneurial Venture Creations Incubator work in partnership with RIT’s Albert J. Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship to integrate business education with RIT’s world leading technical and creative programs. Graduate programs include Master of Business Administration, MBA-Accounting, Executive MBA and master’s degrees in finance and administration.