Students Learn from their Mentors

Creating career bound and work ready students is the focus of BestPrep’s eMentors program. Already this school year more than 1,200 students have been paired with an email mentor. Students email their mentors weekly on a topic related to career skills. Mentors share their knowledge, stories and examples in order to help students become aware of the skills they’ll need for success after high school. (Read More)

Give to the Max Day 2012

Mark your calendar… “Give to the Max Day” is coming up on Thursday, November 15. Last year more than 55,000 Minnesota students and educators were impacted by our six educational programs. Thank you to all who donated last year and helped make this success possible. (Read More)

Financial Matters Impacts College Possible Students

A year ago BestPrep and College Possible began partnering to provide financial education for College Possible students. More than 1,500 students participated in presentations given by BestPrep’s Financial Matters program volunteers. The presentations focused on money management, budgeting and credit. (Read More)

Wells Fargo Advisors Announces Major Support for the
Minnesota Stock Market Game™

For the second year in a row, Wells Fargo Advisors has provided BestPrep a very generous grant, allowing Minnesota students to participate in the Stock Market Game (SMG) at no cost to their school! The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA,) who administers the program throughout the United States, worked with BestPrep and Wells Fargo Advisors to develop the initiative. (Read More)

Birdies for BestPrep’s 15th Birthday Bash in January!

Teach with Technology

Educators – Are you looking for ways to liven up your classroom, want to further engage your students, or need a new idea on how to teach a concept?

BestPrep’s Technology Lesson Library has recently been updated with unit plans created at the 2012 Technology Integration Workshop. These unit plans were created using the Understanding by Design curriculum method. (Read More)

Student Spotlight: BestPrep Students Achieving Success

With this newsletter, we are launching a new “Student Spotlight” column that will highlight BestPrep students who have gone on to accomplish great things. A great example is our first featured student, Jay Ingber. (Read More)

2012-13 School Year Programs Kick Off!

During the 2011-2012 school year, more than 12,000 students were impacted by volunteers through BestPrep’s Classroom Plus program. From speakers visitng classrooms to tours through local companies, students gained first-hand experiences of the business world. (Read More)

A New BestPrep.org!

BestPrep is thrilled to annouce the launch of the new and improved BestPrep.org!(Read More)

High School Students Enjoy Summer Enrichment

Minnesota Business Venture (MBV) is a week-long summer residential program where high school students learn about business, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and career direction. MBV hosted two successful sessions this summer at the campuses it partners with, St. Cloud State University and St. John’s University. (Read More)

Record Breaking Technology Integration Workshop

A record 101 teachers participated in BestPrep’s Technology Integration Workshop this summer. The workshop encouraged and taught educators to expand their curriculum by incorporating additional technology into their unit plans. (Read More)

Contribute to BestPrep Through Workplace Giving Campaign

Exciting Changes at BestPrep

BestPrep is excited to announce some changes to our staff! BestPrep recently welcomed Ann Benson to the team. Ann will be working as a Program Associate in Classroom Plus, eMentors and Financial Matters, and looks forward to working with educators and volunteers this school year. (Read More)

I attended Minnesota Business Venture (MBV) as a student in the summer of 2011. Going into camp, I did not know much about what I was going to experience other than the comments I had heard from a friend who had attended MBV the summer before. Based on her great experience with the program, I decided to join and learn more about the business field. There were not, and still are not, many classes specifically geared towards business education in high school, and so I figured MBV would be a neat opportunity for me to find out if business was something I was interested in. To this day, I consider my decision to attend MBV one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I enjoyed all of the speakers during the week, and I was inspired by each speaker’s story and how he/she had made an impact –however big or small—in his/her community. The small break-out sessions each day thoroughly answered the smaller, more-detailed questions I had on insurance, credit score, business etiquette, interviews, and many other subject areas. The major task for the week, the business plan, allowed me to not only understand Marketing, Supply Chain Operations, and Finance fundamentals and how each complimented the other, but also experience working together in a team to accomplish a difficult task within a very tight schedule.

With all of the learning that was done, I cannot forget to mention how much fun I had during the week. I greatly enjoyed spending time with all of the other students and staff—many of whom I am still in contact with today. Overall, I considered my week at MBV the highlight of my summer that year.

This summer I was approached with the opportunity to be a CEO (counselor) at MBV and I was more than excited with the prospect of going back to camp. The idea of leading a group of students and being able to work directly with a local business professional was something I found very intriguing. During the week, my Resident Business Leader (RBL) was Ben Truong from Ecolab. I had a great time working with him and together we were able to lead our company through many challenges.

As a CEO, I had a different view of MBV and saw the week’s activities from a different perspective. I was in-charge of a group of fourteen students and served as their leader and mentor for the week. One of the challenges I had as a CEO was finding the balance between offering guidance and giving away the answer to the students’ questions. I had participated in the program before and therefore had experience in all of the activities, but my duty was to assist the company in every way possible while also letting them figure certain things out by themselves. Additionally as a CEO, I was able to practice open communication to address any conflicts, deadlines, and rules within the company. I am very glad I was given the chance to be a CEO as I gained much from the experience and, at the same time, was able to help ensure that the students had a positive experience as well.

I could not have been happier with my experience with MBV over the years. I believe I have become a stronger individual, gained helpful insight into my career path, and learned about the field of business in ways I could not have in a classroom setting—all while making new friends and having a ton of fun. However, I believe the most valuable part of MBV for me came after the camp ended. Since attending MBV in 2011, I have been met with countless opportunities to further explore the business world including: starting an internship with BestPrep, talking with distinguished college professors, discussing life experiences with Harvard University alums, touring Ecolab and meeting with employees in the Finance and Operations sectors, touring the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and speaking on behalf of BestPrep at BestPrep’s Board of Directors meeting and Wealth Enhancement Group’s Client Appreciation Event. As I graduate from high school, begin college, and enter the work force in the coming years, I will always be thankful for Minnesota Business Venture and all that it has done for me.

Minnesota Business Venture 2012

Minnesota Business Venture (MBV) is right around the corner! Resident Business Leaders have been trained, speakers have been secured, and students are registered. What’s left?
(Read More)

David Krause is BestPrep’s 2012 Volunteer of the Year

Almost 4,000 individuals volunteered for BestPrep programs this past year. To select one as the “Bunzel Volunteer of the Year” is not a job for the faint of heart. The selection became easier and easier as the BestPrep staff looked at David Krause, Eden Prairie Market President of Beacon Bank.
(Read More)

School Year Programs Conclude

BestPrep’s school year programs – Classroom Plus, eMentors, Financial Matters and The Stock Market Game – concluded in May/June and saw great success during the 2011-2012 school year.
(Read More)

Record Breaking Technology Integration Workshop

With 100 educators enrolled, the 2012 Technology Integration Workshop is on track to be the largest Workshop yet! As a result of special funding, educators from select school districts have been invited to attend free of charge. To accommodate the growth in participants, more breakout speakers have been secured, new and emerging technologies have been added, and eight Technology Integration Specialists have been hired.
(Read More)

Corporate Spotlight – Allstate