DDSB students participate in the 3rd Annual Business Leaders of the Future Conference
On April 15th Grade 9 and 10 Business Studies students in the Durham District School Board (DDSB) attended the Business Leaders of the Future Conference at the Education Centre in Whitby.
Approximately 70 students from Sinclair Secondary School, Maxwell Heights Secondary School, Port Perry High School, J. Clarke Richardson Collegiate, and Brooklin High School took in an eye-opening keynote presentation and engaged in various hands-on workshops.
Jasmine Rutschmann, a former Port Perry HS student, gave the keynote address. Rutschmann is a young entrepreneur who started her own business while still in high school. She creates handmade metal art made by drawing a design freehand, and then cutting it with a handheld plasma cutter. “I take mostly reclaimed materials such as saws, shovels, wheelbarrows, and oil tanks and I am able to repurpose them, giving them a second life,” explains Rutschmann.
Her message to students is clear: invest in yourself, “Figure out what brings you joy, what hobbies you like, and start setting goals for yourself.” Rutschmann adds, “Take the time to get to know yourself. Take personality tests. Figure out your passion and make it into a side hustle. You can start right now.”
After the keynote, students ventured to different workshops involving financial literacy, Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA, a program that prepares emerging leaders in hospitality, marketing, finance, etc.), Summer Company (a program for students to learn about financial possibilities for their future), counterfeit detection, and more.
Lauri Geuzebroek is the Program Facilitator for Business Studies at the DDSB, and the organizer of the event. Geuzebroek says the conference is important for students in Business Studies courses because, “It allows our students a chance to spend the day learning about their own strengths and skills, their potential for the future in the area of business where they have shown a passion, what business leaders are looking for, and how they can make a difference in the business world now and in the future.”
She adds that teachers also love the conference because, “They are making connections to potential partners for their classrooms and school clubs. They are also giving their passionate students a chance to spend the day focusing on areas of their strengths and interests, and a chance to connect to their students on a stronger, more personal level.”
To find out more about Jasmine Rutschmann’s metal art visit https://www.jasminesmetalart.com/.
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