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Industry B, Putting Their Skills to the Test (B)

Grace Purvis

Going into the Junk Game, Industry B had no strategy. They saw what they liked, and they grabbed it. Initially, their items consisted of a long hose, a pool pump, a flat screen tv, a coffee can, and several other objects. Through the “generosity” of four other industries, they received a metallic blue, micro My Little Pony backpack, a dirty air filter, a microwave, and a biology textbook. Using the astounding duct tape skills of Dallas Davis and abounding creativity from all members, they created the Nanogram.

Pictured above is the original Nanogram.

The Nanogram is an educational nanny for children when their parents aren’t home. The pool pump became the body and its hose arms had the ability to clean all messes. The pony backpack turned into the friendly face. The long hose wrapped around the base of the microwave, making the Nanogram corner free and completely childproof. It also comes with a remote (formerly a broken calculator) that can be used from anywhere in the world.

Spokespeople Alexandra Herrera and Darrel Saina gave a pitch highlighting the key points of the Nanogram and its price of $999 – for the home model that is.

As of late Monday afternoon, the Nanogram is no more. Now it’s the Sam! Style Me. The Sam! Style Me, will be debuting at New York Fashion Week this fall. This machine is a state of the art hair styler, it does your makeup, and creates outfits tailored just for your individual look.

Pictured above is the Sam! Style Me.

It customizes the clothing and beauty looks to your own personal style. The Sam! Style Me, can suggest new clothes for you and even buy your outfits with its enhanced artificial intelligence technology. This same friendly AI gives encouragement for the outfit you’re wearing.

“This is the new Alexa” team member Kate Landhuis said. “It gives you a ton of hype on your outfits.”

There is also a free app you can download that controls the machine. This app allows you to purchase and rent clothes picked just for you. The Sam! Style Me. retails for 3 payments of $199. It can be purchased online by emailing samstyleme@gmail.com or by calling 1-800-SAM-STYL.

Where Industry T’s App Ideas Come Früm (T)

By Mikayla Deters

As the newest addition to the Business Horizons program, Industry T had multiple obstacles to overcome throughout their journey this past week. While a majority of the industries were working with physical materials, this group was tasked with creating their own virtual ideas of what their product would be.

Industry T’s efforts focused around an app titled Früm, which was based around a list of goals and tasks for an entire household. The app is created around a framework titled Scrum, which helps to track the completion of tasks to achieve specific goals. For each task, sticky notes are moved through different sections of “to do”, “doing”, or “done”. Each goal that a group creates includes many different tasks to be completed. Früm allows family members to keep track of the person in charge of each task, to the time limit for completion.

Sean Wilson-Brynoe of Fairfield High School from Industry T, explained that relationships were organized as different users making up a family sharing many goals, while also keeping each of the families separate. “if we want to connect families, that’s a functionality we can add but right now there are multiple users connected to one family and one family has multiple goals and multiple goals have multiple tasks,” he said.

Signing up for the app itself would be relatively simple for any family members who would want to join Früm. To join the app, Wilson-Brynoe explained, would be just like any other website. “The interface is kind of self-explanatory so everything will be easy to find: a sidebar where you click ‘add goal’ and you have all your options come down on the right side,” he said, explaining how the layout would be similar to a dashboard.

To get future users excited, the idea was brought up by multiple students to create a sort of working prototype online where those viewing the products would be able to see the very basics. Students would be working together to create a web-app that showed basic characteristics of Früm. Wilson-Brynoe mentioned that the industry would be purchasing a domain name so that the product could be publicly viewable from any device.

For demonstration purposes, the group was focused on laptop presentations, while for the mobile view, they will be using a presentation board to show the functionality — more is to come however. “We’ll be building an actual application to show the different functionalities and how you can create accounts and move things to kind of live a demo of the app. I call it sudo-functionality. That’s our plan,” he stated.

While their competition is mostly full of physical creations, Industry T will be showing off their prototype for Früm. The group of students are also showing the opportunities for future Business Horizons camp members as the first year of Industry T.

Monday Night Rugby Showdown

Grace Purvis

Chris Draper and students

One of the first things rugby coach Chris Draper asked the students at Schipper Stadium was how many had rugby experience. Maybe three people raised their hands. However, their lack of experience didn’t stop them from going all in. The combination of positive mindsets, competitive attitudes, and general restlessness made for several great five minute games. Starting with almost no knowledge on the sport, the Business Horizons students quickly picked up on the rules and techniques.

Students gathered around to plan for next game

At the end of regular play, Industry C was undefeated and Industry E was in last place. As tournament play began, Industry E moved up the ranks and was set to play in the final game. Industry C let one too many runners get past their defense and ended up placing third. In the final game of B against E, there were some tough accidental tackles and great fast break plays.

Student cheering for a win.

Student running for a goal.

In a true underdog story, Industry E ended up winning 2-0. As their team talked over the game the next day, Payton Klarenbeek of West Lyon High School said, “It was a team effort and we came together when it counted.” Jake Northup of Dowling Catholic High School referred to the game as “a full send.”

Keeping the Rock Rollin

Gavin Powell

David Williamson is a great many things, but he is far from boring. Williamson is not only being inducted into the 2018 Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, he’s also passionate about leading Iowa’s youth to greater success in the future through creativity training. Creativity training is a group task and helps to show that everyone is capable of individual creative thinking. The training is very unique and inspiring to the students of Business Horizons.

Right off the bat, Williamson gave a lesson in formal introductions – a handshake to be exact. Williamson said, “There’s two types of important webs. There is the one online, and there is the one between your thumb and first finger.” He explained after his presentation, “A handshake was all we ever did business on back then. It was more of a code of honor.” Williamson said that back in the day, he never would get burnt on a deal, even if the only thing solidifying it was a simple handshake.

Williamson discussed his Bushmen band days how local media impacted his career. “I realized early on that the media really didn’t mean anything to me. Sure they helped with publicity, yeah, but I was mostly just a content provider to them, and that was most of our relationship.”

In school, Williamson’s choice to pursue music wasn’t always received in a positive light. “Back in the day, when you turn in your jock strap for a guitar strap you were usually headed for trouble.” He talked about his early band days and recruiting his band after quitting sports to be in a musical career. “Sophomore year, I went to a live rock show for the first time, and it was awesome, and I later found out that my local milkman was the lead guitarist, and I figured out that anyone can rock, including me.”

Williamson asked for an electric guitar that very Christmas, kicking off a successful and enjoyable lifelong career making music and changing lives for the better. Williamson shared with the crowd how his experience in his band was relevant. He has been speaking to Business Horizon for well over 20 years, to which he said, “The reason I do this is because people cared more about what was on top of my head, then between my ears.”

Kay Neumann-Thomas, The Vice President of the Iowa Association Of Business And Industry Foundation, and the long-time leader of Business Horizons, felt that David Williamson was a man of unique history, creativeness, and had an original outlook on life. She feels his lessons can apply to all forms of life, both professional and normal. “David Williamson has been one of the most unique, creative, and informative speakers we have had at Business Horizons.”

Emily Schettler, a communication strategist working for the Harkin Institute, took away several important things from Williamson’s creativity training, such as how replicable and applicable everything he talked about was, regardless of career path. When asked about Williamson’s outlook on life, she said, “His enthusiasm about life and it’s unpredictable nature was just infectious, and I now feel motivated to try new things that I never thought about before.” She reacted just as many others at Business Horizons did – with total respect and enthusiasm. “My biggest take-away of his time with us would be that presentation is just as important as the product, which I agree with.”

(Photo Credit: Sydney Peterson)

What are you going to do with all that junk?

Diana Sagastizado

Ten tables full of junk, 55 students with the objective of changing all that scrap heap into a captivating treasure trove. On Sunday, July 15 the students of the 2018 Business Horizons (BH) class gathered together to create their very own product out of various worn out everyday objects. The production challenge also known as the “junk challenge” is a fast passed, creativity exploration that emphasizes teamwork, problem solving, and imagination.

At the beginning of BH, each student was assigned to an industry to whom each individual would remain a part of the remainder of the week. The concept of the game was simple: create a product as an industry, construct it using junk parts and tape, and sell it. The only rule being the object cannot be used as for its original intended purpose.

David Williamson helps students. Photo credit: Sydney Peterson

David Williamson, the creator and director of the junk challenge asked for each industry to pick two representatives to come to the middle tables and pick two random objects. He continued with asking them to pick two different people and make selection based on how they feel, not how they look. He then proceeded by telling them to pick the heaviest object they find and the lightest. After a few more rounds of this pattern he asked the students to smell items, find something that had absolutely no odor, and something that had a distinct odor. Many of the students were surprised and felt really odd sniffing random stuff on the tables, but as Williamson said “Being plugged into the nose is also crucial when designing a product.”

After the chaotic scenery of choosing the part the students got to work. Around the room you could hear many ideas being brought out and creativity flourishing. Teamwork and collaboration were very vivid among the group of individuals. As each person would grab a part and say “This microwave could be the engine to our personal flying car!” After time was up each student had to pick a spokesperson to go up and try and sell the product to the audience. Uniqueness and creativity were projected throughout each presentation having various inventions, from an ejecting personal flying transportation device to a mini portable hot lunch maker.

That night these nine industries knew what they were going to do with all that junk. They were going to create the framework of an amazing product that they were to polish the rest of the week with the goal to captivate consumers’ minds.

Meet Business Horizons Students

Mikayla Deters

Media Team Art Director: Mikayla

Nevada High School

First impressions of BH: Excited for new opportunities to improve her writing skills

Looking forward to: Gaining experience meeting professionals in the journalism feed

Facts about Mikayla: Loves stage managing, former president of her school’s Gay Straight Alliance (current vice president), has qualified for State Speech individually two years in a row, enjoys volunteer work

Favorite subject: History

Mikayla encourages everybody to watch Mr. Bett’s Youtube channel

Diana sagastizado

Media Team Journalist: Diana

Clarke High School

First impressions of BH: Lost her map right away, but it is only getting better from there

Looking forward to: Exploring more opportunities in journalism

Hobbies/Sports: Basketball, soccer, lots of clubs

Favorite Subject: History

A joke to share: What did the drummer name his two daughters?

Answer: Hannah 1, Hannah 2

Sara Qualley

Media Team Editor: Sara

Iowa Falls-Alden High School

Previous journalism experience: Journalism class, local newspaper internship in the fall

Looking forward to: Meeting others with a passion for journalism

Facts about Sara: Loves dogs, enjoys reading, likes to write feature stories as well as fantasy, does lots of service work

Current job: Fareway

Dream job: Journalist, she wants to share other people’s stories

Lilian Hatting

Industry D: Liliann

Grinnell High School

First impressions of BH: Interesting and unique, not a common opportunity

Looking forward to: Using her experiences here to become more comfortable in front of crowds and becoming more professional

What she wants everybody to know: She is not as mean as she looks.

Hobbies: Tennis, photography, and art

Favorite subject: Art and science

Current Jobs: Americorps (government organization providing literacy based programs for children), teacher’s assistant at a daycare, ice cream shop

Dream Job: Forensic science technician

She loves: Baked beans and tropical places

The New Candle-Bearers of ‘Horizon Sun Times’

It’s once again that time of the year for new students to join the ranks of Business Horizons. Amongst them are six journalists to record and review their ingenuity.

In life there are those who stand idle, and those who achieve greatness. The new Horizon Sun Times staff are the latter of the two. The staff is ready to make the week more fun, friendly, and enjoyable for the whole populace of Business Horizons (BH).

The six journalists have been assigned positions in the News Room, such as the title Editor, Social Media Director, Art Director, and a few active journalists. The Horizon Sun Times editor is Sara Qualley of Iowa Falls High School, the social media director is Grace “Gracie” Purvis of BCLUW, the art director Mikayla Deters of Nevada High School, and our journalists are Diana Sagastizado of Clarke Community High School, Grace Galloway of Des Moines Roosevelt High School, and Gavin Powell of Van Buren High School. The group is very ready to record the new machines, new workers, and new industries.

Business Horizons is a new thing for all of us, but we all look forward to making it even more fun for the attendees, their care-givers, and their sponsors! It’s day two of BH, so let’s keep the rock rolling, and have a wonderful week.

By Gavin Powell

Business Horizons 2017 Video Recap

We’ve had such a fun week at camp, here’s a quick recap showing some of our favorite moments. Thank you for letting the media track cover everything we’ve done!

Signing off,

BH Media Track 2017

Kickin’ the stereotypes

Industry A members showing off their appreciation of Business Horizons.

Summer has rolled in, boats are pulled out of storage, vacations are anticipated. While many students fill their summers with jobs, sports and hanging out with friends, others squeeze summer camp into their schedules.

Summer camp is often portrayed as multiple cabins lined up by a lake crowded with canoes and paddles. The camps advertise themselves as a fun community where teens have the chance to grow and become better people. They also feature wide-grinning kids “enjoying” their time at camp.

In reality, those teens were probably forced to attend in order to give their parents a break. At Business Horizons, participants chose to give the week-long camp a whirl to help them better prepare for the future.

Before arriving, BH campers may have expected a few stereotypes, as summer camps generally do. Smita Singhal, Johnston, wasn’t sure what to expect beforehand, as her parents signed her up.

“I think it definitely opened my eyes, enhanced what I already knew and helped me put it into perspective and use,” Singhal said

As teens go through high school, their viewpoint on camps change as they change. At the beginning of high school, students have a general idea what they want to do with their life, but haven’t reached the point where they are set on their goal. Innovative summer camps, such as Business Horizons, gives high schoolers a chance to explore their interests and reach that point of setting an ultimate goal.

Each year, ambassadors are chosen from the previous year to not only help get each student to participate, but also to represent how Business Horizons can impact their future and themselves. Although they may seem confident on stage, they were in the students’ shoes last year. Ambassador Gil Garcia wasn’t sure what to expect, as he’d never been to a business camp.

“Now that I have a year under my belt, I knew it was going to be fun the second time,” Garcia said, “Last year before I came, I wasn’t too sure exactly what it had to offer, and now that I’ve been to BH once, and now a second time, it’s kind of reinforced my views on business.”

Business Horizons hasn’t only helped Garcia decide what he wants to major in college, but has helped him make lifelong friends who are also going to the University of Iowa.

“This program is just a really good way to network with people,” said Garcia.

Overall, the camp has given Garcia a clearer sense about business and what it entails. It really focuses on helping the students understand all of the aspects of what it takes to be an entrepreneur and ways they can reach their goal, regardless of their career choice.

Taylor Roth, Dubuque, plans on graduating her junior year (currently a sophomore) and will go on to get her RN degree. By attending Business Horizons, she was able to learn more about business and the different types of jobs in the business industry.

“The camp has also helped me come out of my comfort zone a little bit,” Roth said.

Business Horizons is not a stereotypical summer camp; it’s all about improvement and impactful learning. Students come away with information to use in and out of school to better themselves. The only stereotype found here are the matching shirts, but those are only a one day use.

By Chloé Newbury

06/29/2017

Widen Horizons

Industry members working together.

As many campers focus on the idea of college, they hope to build their portfolios. By including Business Horizons, they’ve not only set themselves up for great experiences, but they’ve also accessed new partnerships.

“This is a place for our future business leaders,” industry consultant Karen Rieck, FBL Financial, said. “It’s a kickstart to their futures.”

At Business Horizons, the students began by building connections. For example, all the campers received business cards which they distributed to attendees. This builds relationships as well as bonds that may contribute to future success.

“They’re meeting people from all over the state,” Industry E Advisor Sid Juwarker, Terracon Consultants, Inc., said. “Nobody is the same; they’re all different, so it teaches them how to be immersed.”

Attending Business Horizons can be beneficial since many students who attend are starting to focus on what happens after high school.

“Business Horizons prepares students in many ways, but the biggest one is the college experience,” Juwarker said. “It’s like a mini week of college.”

The camp also has the ability to open doors to new pathways.

“A big benefit these campers have that they may not realize is their Industry Advisors,” Juwarker said. “The advisors have the possibility of giving out recommendation letters, other connections, and possibly internships.”

One final positive derived from attending Business Horizons is a good image.

“Taking a part in Business Horizons shows colleges that these students have drive and educational values,” Juwarker said. “It sets them apart from everyone else. These kids are using a summer to better themselves, and that’s something very proactive.”

By Toni Fortmann

06/29/2017