By Makenna Arbogast

On the beginning day of Business Horizons 2019, July 14, students were introduced to the world of business through the very creative standpoint of David Williamson, who was the first guest speaker for the week.

When talking with the audience, three main points were given that set the stage for the days to come.

One of the first points of Williamson’s speech was the funnel changing into a fulcrum metaphor, which was an example of holding a funnel upright then turning it upside down to become a fulcrum.

The intention behind this metaphor was to help students understand that the funnel is the old understanding we’ve been taught since childhood, while changing it to the fulcrum means that you’re gaining a new understanding from something old.

To encourage listeners to embrace this saying, Williamson suggested that each of us students see “every day as the object” where we attempt to discover new opportunities, people, ideas, inventions, and more.

Another point Williamson described during his presentation was learning to experience the different angles of an object. An example he used most often to express this point was a door hinge where, along with participation from the audience, he would brainstorm ideas of what other items that one hinge could be.

By changing the orientation of the hinge, students saw a pair of boots, a tree stump, a butterfly, and even Santa’s sleigh! To finish off the brainstorming session, Williamson challenged the audience to make it their goal to look at an object and see 25 different ways the object can be viewed almost immediately.

The last point, highlighted multiple times throughout his speech, was seeing a third option out of a given two. Williamson gave various versions of a hidden third option, one of the first being his time in high school.

During his time in high school, it was apparent that there were two options of a school hobby: athletics and the fine arts. What Williamson ended up choosing with three of his friends was to make a rock & roll band. He and the other band members were looked down upon by their school and family, but what they didn’t realize is that Williamson and the others had started their own business.

Williamson urged the audience to begin searching for that third option because of his experience with the incredibly thought-provoking message “answer the questions, question the answers, and question the questions.”

By Hally Rittmer, of Preston

The Central College campus was buzzing as business-passionate high school students worked to increase their knowledge at Business Horizons. The 30-plus year old camp is made up of about 80 campers this year. The campers are split into seven industries: A, B, C, D, E, M, and T. If M and T seem a bit out of sorts, it’s because they function differently.

While groups A through E are business oriented, spending their week producing a product, industry M, for media, is journalism based. The young journalists doubled their fun by not only enjoying the weeks happenings, but also by reporting on them. The T in Group T stands for the technology industry. These students pursued their web interests as they produced an app.

Although the young businessmen and women came from varying backgrounds, they all came together for one thing: a shared passion for learning about Iowa’s businesses. Wherever that interest originated, whether it be from a family business or an inspiring high school teacher, each student had a reason for participating in this life-changing camp.

Waukee students Kellan McGregor and Akhil Sharma looked forward to spending the week making connections with others by forming relationships and networks. Meeting new people was also an attractive feature to Ankeny’s Josie Bearden, as she was “looking forward to meeting new people and getting to work with [her] team”.

The students are not alone in their week-long business journey, and their accompanying staff feels just as excited. To McKenzie Kielman, an employee at The Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation, which puts on Business Horizons each year, establishing relationships is a key factor.

“I am passionate about business horizons because it connects students from all across the state of lots of different interests, talents, and strengths to each other and to a support system to achieve whatever they’re interested in and can feel validated in and go on to pursue their passion”.

By Samantha Eberly, of Clarinda

Where did campers and ambassadors go late at night after dinner, meetings and a long day of work? Business Horizons After Hours! BH After Hours was an exciting time for students to meet and interact with students they hadn’t met before, play team games, and make lasting memories and friendships.

Sunday night, after all of the chaos that took place during the first day, BH students, leaders and ambassadors went outside of Scholte Hall and met with recruiters from the Iowa National Guard. Students were split into two groups and learned about medic work in the National Guard or participated in a scavenger hunt using night-vision goggles supplied by the military.

The first group of students worked with two men from the National Guard, and learned about medical emergency situations in the military, how to use a tourniquet, and how to carry a casualty while in battle. For the relay races, a ‘casualty’ laid down on the stretcher, referred to in the military as a litter, and two or four students hustled them across the grass, and back to their group to rotate out and do it again. Winners were decided on account of safety and efficiency.

The second group of students took part in a scavenger hunt spread across the campus’ sporting facilities. The groups were given $10,000 night-vision goggles and two maps. They were then instructed to run around campus, at 10:30 p.m., and take pictures at the different sporting facilities. The first group who reported back to the starting point, won.

Students Elyse Kriegel, of Pella, and Ray Ches, of Pella, both mentioned how they favored the litter relays and learning how to use a tourniquet.

“It was pretty fun, I learned different things that I didn’t expect that I was [going to] learn that night,” Kriegel said.

A student from Industry D, Ellie Roorda, of Pella, emphasized that she favored the medical experience versus the scavenger hunt.

“I liked the medical part because I’m interested in that part and it was just fun to do different stuff and experience like what I would [maybe experience] in the future,” Roorda said.

Overall, Business Horizons After Hours was a huge hit on night one, where not only did students have fun, but they also learned valuable lessons that they could use later on in life.

Gavin Powell

Talkative students and beautiful weather sums up a perfect day at Adventure Land. Business Horizons students went on a mini vacation to Adventureland for three hours on Tuesday night in an effort to reduce the building stress on students. The trip was well received by everyone, including the staff.

Sean Wilson-Bynoe, a student at Fairfield High School, went swimming in the wave pool, rode some rides, and said that he “had a pretty good root beer float.” An ambassador named Maddy Ladehoff said her favorite ride was the shooting star and that she mostly rode on rides. However, she did not ride roller coasters. She said, “I had some bomb ice cream.” Cole Bisbee, a student at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura High School, mostly went swimming at Adventureland, where he enjoyed the wave pool and found that the food was “really, surprisingly good!”