Economics students will showcase their own created products and companies at the annual econ fair in Room 602, from 10:40 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 19. Students will set up stations with their prototypes and give sales pitches to potential investors, played by teachers, in hopes of financial backing for their fake business ventures.
Econ teacher Bessalee Mendoza created the project in hopes that students would better grasp the concepts of supply, demand and competition as they relate to business.
“The purpose of this project is for students to see what it is like out in the real world to start a business, company or market a product,” Mendoza said. “What I hope students will gain from this is a better understanding of how the concepts and topics of economics that we have covered in class apply in the real world and that they are not just something in a textbook. I hope they see and understand the struggles and hardships people face when starting their own business and the decisions that they face.”
To further encourage serious participation in this project, Mendoza will give 15 points of extra credit to the company that receives the most investments.
Created items for the econ fair in the past have ranged from cell phone cases to decorated water bottles. This year, juniors Sarah Ingersol and Mary Reynolds will promote their “Creative Covers,” personalized binder covers for students. Taking into consideration the interests of her peers, Ingersol views their product as useful for teenagers.
“I think our product will be successful because many people, girls especially, decorate their binders and it is much easier for someone else to do it for you,” Ingersol said. “It can be successful with anyone because we will use whatever pictures or designs that they would want.”
Seniors Riley Endicott, Dalton Jones and junior SeungKeun Kim plan to follow the method of a real business, TOMS Shoes, to make their product successful. Their humanitarian-like company will sell loaves of bread without the two crusted ends, and will then use the ends to feed people in need.
“With our product, we will feed others with food that is normally wasted,” Endicott said. “We hope to have similar success as TOMS Shoes by using our product to help others. I’m excited to see what the ‘investors’ think.”
Despite the work and preparation this project entails, Ingersol recognizes the usefulness of the econ fair in concern to her future.
“This project is preparation for me if I ever decided to go into business,” Ingersol said. “It also puts everything that we’ve learned in econ into use, rather than just being things from a book.”
For information on the econ fair, e-mail Mendoza.