Huntington Business Students in Young Professionals Competition
Four Huntington High School business students dipped their collective toes into the proverbial fire at the eighth annual Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce business leadership competition at Farmingdale State University.
Sponsored by the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the event drew nearly 200 entries from 14 Western Suffolk high schools. All of the students wore appropriate business attire and drew rave reviews from judges.
It was the first such business competition for Huntington's Spencer Colwin (sports marketing), Justin Cook (entrepreneurship), Josh Solomowitz (entrepreneurship) and Joellen Ceide (graphic design) "and they all did admirably," said Suzie Biagi, who teachers career and financial management classes at Huntington High School.
Mrs. Biagi and the four Huntington students have been attending monthly meetings at the Huntington Public Library where the Chamber of Commerce has provided guest speakers and programming directed at young business professionals.
The Huntington students worked hard to develop their entries. "Unlike other competitors, they did their projects completely on their own time," said Mrs. Biagi, who met with the teenagers a few times after school.
All four students are already planning on competing next year. Mrs. Biagi intends to bring her most serious business students to the competition every year. The teacher is a tireless promoter of business education at Huntington High School and hopes to get more students interested in the program.
"Making presentations to business professionals provides a real life experience," Mrs. Biagi said. "The students showcase their ideas, practice their public speaking and polish their presentation strategies."