Students enrolled in Ossining High School's business program had more on their minds than balance sheets and payroll reports, during a recent visit with County Executive Robert P. Astorino. The young entrepreneurs wanted to talk about how to succeed in business and in life.
The students had a lot of questions for the county executive including, "What is the most successful quality of a business person?" to which Astorino answered: "Passion. If you don't love what you do you, you're not going to do it well. Look at the most successful people in business. They don't clock out at 5 p.m." He went on to stress the importance of balancing work with family and friends.
Astorino spoke about taking risks, making the best of what life throws at you and the importance of overcoming obstacles. He shared personal stories such as how a bout of mononucleosis in high school sidelined him from playing sports, but gave him his start in a sports radio career; and how he made the difficult decision to run for county executive in 2009 after losing on his first try in 2005.
The county executive wanted to meet the students, after he heard about the school's unique program that focuses on teaching "real-life" skills like how to start a company, file tax returns, manage investments and even market a movie script. About 100 students in grades 9 through 12 attended the assembly and are enrolled in at least one of the four course offerings: Accounting, Career and Financial Management, Entrepreneurship and Sports and Entertainment Marketing.
The program, taught by Debra Jacoby, was recently honored by the New York State Department of Education and Business Teachers Association as "an outstanding model for other school districts to follow." Last year, a team of Jacoby's students won first place at the African American Men of Westchester's Business Olympics for evaluating a Harvard Business School case study. This year, students will provide free tax counseling for low-income individuals through the Internal Revenue Service's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
Jacoby thanked the county executive for helping to spread awareness about the program. "Unfortunately, these are the types of programs that are first on the chopping block as school districts struggle with tight budgets," said Jacoby. "I think it's great that Mr. Astorino showed such an interest in these kids and what we do here at Ossining High School. The students really connected with what he talked about."
Also in attendance were Ossining School District Superintendent Raymond Sanchez, Ossining High School Principal Joshua Mandel and Ingrid Richards, manager of Downtown and Economic Development for the Village of Ossining.