CU Johnson School's Camp $tart-Up program prepares high school girls for business careers

By Linda Myers

To interest more women earlier in business careers, Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management offers Camp $tart-Up, a hands-on program aimed at getting their attention while they are still in high school.

High school students in the Johnson School's Camp $tart-Up enjoy cones at Ithaca's Purity Ice Cream Co. after a tour of the facility and a talk with co-owner Heather Lane, July 8. They are, from left: Anjelica Hill, Willingboro, N.J.; Gaby Yo, Hacienda Heights, Calif.; Adrian Arguinzoni, Rochester, N.Y.; Sarah Mannix, Schuylerville, N.Y.; and Imani Green, Willingboro, N.J.; with Lane, in the back. Robert Barker/University Photography

Last week 28 young women, ages 12 to 18, came to campus to take part in this summer's Cornell Camp $tart-Up. They got to take classes in Sage Hall geared to high school-age girls on such business-related subjects as finance and accounting, operations and quality control, and sales and service; live in a residential house, Akwe:kon; and in their spare time, hang out where Cornell students on North Campus do, at the Robert Purcell Community Center.

The Johnson School's Office for Women and Minorities in Business sponsors the camp, and staff member Carolyn Theodore directs it. The name and curriculum are licensed from Independent Means Inc., a national program. Classes are taught by volunteer counselors, most of them women MBA students or recent graduates of the school.

Four Johnson School MBA women on this year's Cornell Camp $tart-Up core planning team spent much of the school year planning and marketing the program. "It's an incredible project management experience," said Angela Noble-Grange, director of the Office for Women and Minorities in Business. Indeed, that may be one reason the counselor jobs are sought after, despite the lack of pay or prestige of a more-standard MBA summer job. The program also seems to inspire commitment. Many alumnae who have been counselors come back to campus to participate as well as offer their companies' corporate sponsorships. "It's a win-win proposition for the school," said Noble-Grange.

"We want the campers to walk away with basic business knowledge that will help them expand their understanding of business career paths available to them," said counselor Kara Kownacki, MBA '04, who headed up marketing on the core planning team.

The centerpiece of the weeklong program was a project called "Imagine Yourself in a Business." Student teams came up with ideas for five businesses, then used the school's computer lab to research information on their target audiences and competition. Projects ranged from a juice bar to a business offering dinner and a movie for one low price to a company selling natural makeup and skin care products for teenagers. Alumnae coaches helped the teams fine-tune the plans, which were presented at week's end.

"The girls were like sponges -- they picked things up amazingly quickly," said counselor and finance core planner Koon Wah Gee, MBA '04, who said learning how to describe business concepts simply was an interesting lesson for her.

The week's agenda included such fun-related field trips as a tour of Purity Ice Cream Co. in downtown Ithaca, where campers got to ask co-owner Heather Lane about how to manage a food-related business. "These girls are smart," Lane said after they peppered her with questions on everything from advertising budgets to online searches for the lowest-priced ingredients. One of her tips -- "Don't start a business until you've worked in the field and learned about it on someone else's dollar."

Best of all, they got to sample some of the ice cream parlor's top flavors (chocolate was a favorite, with chocolate chip cookie dough a close second).

The campers also had a chance to swing golf clubs at Hillendale Golf Course and talk about running a sport-related business with co-owner Darlene Sommers. And they spoke with other locally based businesswomen at a panel, "Entrepreneurs and Their Dreams."

"The girls had an incredible opportunity to meet women and men in business who wanted to help them move their ideas forward and, more importantly, support their desire to create a financially stable future for themselves through business," said Kimberly Young, MBA '04, project manager on the core planning team.

In addition, the curriculum included lessons in networking and leadership, a session on socially responsible businesses and another, "Communicating Across Differences," that looked at how to work well with people of varied backgrounds.

The campers themselves were an ethnically and racially diverse bunch, which Imani Green of Willingboro, N.J., saw as an advantage. "Besides learning about business, we're learning about each other and about other cultures," she said.

"And we're making lifelong friendships," chimed in Kendra Morrison of Albany, N.Y.

"It's a really good program. Everybody loves it," said Morrison's friend, Janetha Heath, of her Camp $tart-Up experience.

"It's a lot of work, but interesting and educational," said Anjelica Hill, also from Willingboro, N.J.

"The teachers know their stuff, and they are interested in us," said Makeda Lewis of New Rochelle, N.Y., who hopes eventually to earn an MBA.

Caroline Co, MBA '04, handled logistics on the core planning team. Other counselors were Suzanne Merritt and Aparna Baman, both MBA '04, and Danielle Serronico, who took a leave from her events management job at the National Basketball Association to work at Cornell Camp $tart-Up. This year's sponsors were Playtex Products Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Honeywell. Scholarship supporters included Girls Inc.; Johnson & Johnson; Ladies Professional Golf Association; Latinas Unidas of Rochester, N.Y.; National Association of Women Business Owners of Albuquerque, N.M.; Tony Roma, MBA '81; John Lott, MBA '03; David Gaynor, MPS '75; the Johnson School Women's Management Council; and the High Tech Club.