Web posted
Friday, February 1, 2008
Students get ready for business
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
reporter@arkcity.net
OXFORD -- A new entrepreneurship program offered through Cowley College to Oxford High School students emphasizes real-life work skills that students can't learn in a textbook.
About 50 business people from Cowley and Sumner Counties got an up-close look at the program Tuesday, as the 10 juniors and seniors in the program served their guests a lunch at the Old Oxford Mill.
"This is not a one-year project. This is the beginning of history," said Lisa Roberts, Cowley College's entrepreneurship program director and the instructor of the high school class.
And it is the beginning of a new learning experience for the students, too, said Deborah Hamm, superintendent of the Oxford School District.
The students are bringing back to life a place of business that has deep historical significance for the Oxford community, Hamm said. Built in 1874, the old mill produced flour and cornmeal that pumped up the local economy.
The old mill operated on water-power from the Arkansas River. It was replaced in 1935 with a newer mill on a hill just above the older structure, said Wallace Champeny.
Champeny said today that his grandfather Charles took over mill operations in 1918. The operation remained in the Champeny family until it closed in 1997.
Meanwhile, in 1989, the old mill was restored by Wallace Champeny and Hal Ross. It was dedicated on Sept. 8, 1990.
Ross and Champeny now lease the building to the high school for the entrepreneurship program.
After Tuesday's luncheon, the high school students said they like the class because it offers them three hours college credit and it gives them a chance to serve the community.
"We started working as a group at the beginning of the semester," said Megan Hicks, a senior. "We pretty much had our first public event last week."
That event last Tuesday was billed as a Mardi Gras and it drew 170 people. The students served an evening meal and provided live music, Hicks said.
"You learn how to take care of business," added Brad Potucek, senior. "This decorating (to get the old mill ready for the public) is tough."
The students are learning "people skills" while serving the Oxford community, Hamm said.
The Oxford school district superintendent quoted from a 2004 New York Times article noting that the biggest employment gains over the past decade are in positions that require teamwork and creativity -- nurses and lawyers are examples.
"Those skills you don't necessarily learn from a textbook," Hamm said.
Business isn't as simple today as it was in the early 20th century, she noted. Entrepreneurs need to have self-discipline and organization to manage their work and see a project through to a successful conclusion.
But a trend that could be helpful to a potential entrepreneur is the "de-construction" of large companies, she said.
"It used to be that companies did everything from beginning to end," Hamm said. "For example, ATT did everything from research and development to building their own lines and so on.
"Now that doesn't happen. There are contractors who work for big companies. There also is automation, and that is taking away more and more jobs in many industries."
Hamm urged the business people who attended the lunch to consider contributing to the fledgling program.
The students say they spend many hours working at the old mill including some during their free time and on weekends. But their class work involves more than just work at the historic site.
The seven seniors and three juniors meet with Roberts every Wednesday morning. The rest of the week they work on-line to complete assignments.
The students interview local business entrepreneurs, learn social responsibility, the impact of their business on the community, risks of starting a business and a code of business ethics. They also will do a feasibility analysis on the types of businesses that would be best for the community, Roberts said.
"Our goal by the fall of this year is we'll have various businesses here (in the old mill)," Roberts said.
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