Business Expeditions wrap up the year with Celebration of Learning presentations

By Eliza Insley

Staff Writer

Celebration of Learning is an annual showcase of all the work done in the Expeditions courses. These three Expeditions, Internship, Entrepreneurship, and Computer Science, all explore different aspects of business.

Internship

During the Internship Expedition, sophomore and senior students have the opportunity to do an off-campus internship for local organizations and then give a presentation discussing their experience and skills learned. These internships let students explore their interests in a variety of work environments, get ideas about what they want to pursue in college or as a career and gain work experience.

Summit Prep seniors Jacyn Schmidt and James Bamford explain how they got to experience both being out in nature and being in an office environment during their internship at the United States Geology Survey.

Jesse Uiterwijk, a Summit Prep sophomore, talks about his internship at San Jose Jazz and what the organization does.

Summit Prep senior Tom Chu talks about his daily schedule and commute to his internship at the Midpen Media Center.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is another one of the Expeditions courses offered at Summit Prep. Here, students learn real-life business skills such as creating a presentation, making a product or crafting a business plan. Entrepreneurship teacher Aaron Calvert accomplishes this by placing students in real-world situations, such as pitching an idea to potential investors (a similar experience to that of the TV show Shark Tank).

Students in this course can apply the skills they learn to other careers or jobs, which helps them branch out to other possibilities.

JoelEntrepreneurship — Joel Kestelyn, a sophomore at Summit Prep, explains his business called 4D Calligraphy to parents visiting Summit’s Celebration of Learning.

VictorEntrepenuership — Summit Prep freshman Victor Aguilar-Mendoza explains the shoe business he calls Fuji Chancla to Summit Prep teacher Michael Green. Aquilar-Mendoza said, “My business is making chanclas that are good for the environment and comfortable but also fashionable.”

924DA098-ECA1-41E9-88FC-F216A120FA85 — Dariana Pacheco and Mimi Moore are freshmen who paired up to create a business called EGs, which is short for Electronic Gadgets. Moore said, “Everything we do here is to create opportunities for ourselves that will get us through real-life situations.” Pacheco said, “The skills here can be applied to a lot of jobs or careers. Especially with so many options to choose from in the world, this kind of helps with narrowing it down.”

9960E93C-81C8-4FAB-B01E-AA5A6EA4F7DF — Luke Desmarais and Max Moeller, Summit Prep freshmen, introduce the product they named MirrorCam. Desmarais said, “We made this product to make sure the driver can have a 360-view when they’re driving. This makes driving safer because we are in cars almost every day of our lives and this eliminates blind spots, which are dangerous.”

04533388-7AB5-45C0-9B58-D32C9E907A8D — Esteban Ramirez, a sophomore at Summit Prep, presents his product called Hoods. Ramirez said, “My product is that hoods on your jacket or sweater or whatever – you have a camera lens that can take photos or videos.”

1AB8BBD7-44AC-42E6-B97C-ED3805760C1A — Juan Hernandez, a Summit Prep senior, gives an introduction to a clothing brand he named Distinctive World.

Computer Science

During Computer Science, students learn how to use Cloud9, a JavaScript program, and Scratch to develop different programs. This course gives an beginning look at programming, allowing students to expand their skills and pursue a possible career path.

Matt Hesby, the Computer Science Expeditions teacher, said his original plan was for the course to be open only to sophomores and above; however, “we needed a class that was a little bit more accessible, a little bit more something that students can come in, start getting their hands on programming a little bit and find a way to connect with it.”

Mr. Hesby said this year’s class has a lot of freshmen, and he designed the class for that audience. “Literally it was just to tap into that interest in video games, but give them that as the avenue for beginning to learn the program. So that those students who reach into it and really find that part of it is really enjoyable and really fun, kinda run with the programming and keep going with it.”

Summit Prep Computer Science students showcase their finished programs to an audience of friends and family.

Here’s a look at the Computer Science displays during Celebration of Learning:

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Staff Writers Daneyah Penisini and Alexis Sanchez contributed to this article.