Audrea Wilson’s interest in business began with a single class at Campus High School and quickly developed into a four-year journey that has helped shape her plans for the future.
Wilson, a senior at Campus, took her first business course as a freshman. The experience immediately sparked her interest in exploring the subject further.
“I have been in the Campus business program for four years,” Wilson said. “Freshman year I took one business class and immediately knew I wanted to take more.”
Since then, Wilson has completed six business courses, taking advantage of the variety of opportunities offered through the program. While traditional courses such as accounting caught her attention, Wilson also appreciated the less conventional options available to students.
“The assortment of classes offered by the business program caught my attention,” Wilson said. “There are typical classes like accounting and others that one may not initially think of like broadcasting available to students.”
For Wilson, the appeal went beyond simply learning about business in a classroom. She was drawn to the possibility of developing skills that could eventually help her become an entrepreneur.
“The thought that I could learn skills to create my own business and be an entrepreneur one day is awesome,” Wilson said.
One of the biggest opportunities Wilson experienced was working at Stompin’ Grounds, Campus High’s student-run coffee shop. She worked as a team member during her junior year before moving into a management role as a senior.
The experience gave Wilson an opportunity to apply the concepts she had learned in class in an actual business setting.
“The opportunity that captured my interest in the business program was our student-run coffee shop, Stompin’ Grounds,” Wilson said. “I was fortunate to work as a team member of the coffee shop my junior year and have the privilege of being part of the management team during my senior year.”
Wilson also gained practical experience through Market Day, where students were responsible for developing and selling products while managing the various details involved in operating a small business.
The experience showed Wilson how much coordination is required to successfully operate a business.
“We had to work together to organize a menu, market our product, organize materials, facilitate the logistics of picking up products and supplies, selecting and decorating our location for sales, the storage of hot items during the event, schedules, and cleanup,” Wilson said.
Through those experiences, Wilson said she learned more than just the mechanics of running a business. The program also helped her better understand her own abilities and potential career paths.
“Most importantly from the business program I learned about myself, my capabilities and potential career paths,” Wilson said.
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