Street: Heard you’re doing something cool this summer! What are you doing? RS: I am working as an Assistant Team Advisor with the National Student Leadership Conference for their business and entrepreneurship programs. Basically, I help lead a team of 14 to 16 high school students through a business simulation and a product pitch. I also take students on various NYC tours like Wall Street and Times Square, plan super fun socials, and then act as an RA at night since we are staying in college dorms.

Street: What kinds of business simulations do your teams do? RS: We have two big simulations: CapSim and the product pitch. For CapSim, the students act as a management team for a cell phone company and have to make executive decisions for Research and Development, Marketing, Production, and Finance. As a TA, I help them out and make sure they understand the material, but my focus is on them learning for themselves. I’ll ask questions and try to get them to think through their decisions, especially if I see them going down the wrong direction. For the product pitch, the students devise their own product (whether an invention or an innovation), write up a business plan, and present their full pitch in 10 minutes to the entire group as potential investors. In a “Shark Tank” type of situation, we ask them questions and break down their product and their finances to make sure they all understand their product as well.

Street: What socials do you plan for the students? RS: We do the same socials for each session of students. First, there is Birthday Cake and Board Games (more fondly known as Cake and Games). The title basically says it all – there are assorted games to play, we sing "Happy Birthday" to whoever has a birthday that session, and blast dance music that the kids are into these days. Then, there's Casino Night, complete with mocktails and a small roulette wheel. My favorite is the Light Up the City Social on the last night. It is just dancing and good music. All the students are super close by the end of the program, so everyone just lets loose and has fun!

Street: Where are you staying? RS: The first NSLC program I worked with was the inaugural Entrepreneurship Incubator at Yale University where I stayed in Branford College (i.e. a castle) in June. Currently, I am working with the Business and Entrepreneurship program at Fordham University.

Street: I want the deets: are the dorms at Yale and Fordham nicer than the ones at Penn? RS: Personally, I miss my high rise life, but there are definitely benefits to both. At Yale, I was living in a tower with spiraling stairs and a schnazzy basement complete with a huge TV room, computer lab, laundry machines, and a buttery! Fordham's basement is less exciting, but the rooms have carpet and are pretty nice.

Street: Any scandals between the high schoolers yet? I hope you haven't witnessed many DFMOs...or worse... RS: Scandals? Well, we look to avert any potential situations. We've found students in the basement doing "laundry" at 5:00 AM, and I have had to break up grinding on the dance floor. Always a little awkward, but we generally put an end to any scandalous activities before they happen. Though, there was one kid with a hickey on the last day....

Street: LOL. Hormones are hilarious. So, what’s the coolest thing that’s happened to you so far? RS: I have two answers to this! Easily, the coolest thing that happened to me was the chance to hold a boa constrictor around my shoulders in Battery Park and not pay any money to do so. Who doesn't love free? The second—

Street: Wait. Stop right there. A boa!? How did this happen and how were you not strangled to death?? RS: I love to try to new and exotic things! We passed by this guy holding a snake, and at first I just touched it and kept walking. Then, when we walked back the same way, I asked if it cost money to hold the snake. The guy called it a donation of $5, but he said I could hold it for free. Sounds sketch, but I was with a group. The snake was so chill, but I wasn't exactly moving around a lot because I didn't know how he'd react.

Street: Wow. The extent of my trying new things is getting pistachio ice cream. Sorry, you were saying what the second coolest thing was...? RS: Well, the coolest thing that I get to see on a daily basis is the progress of the students I work with. Every day, they’re learning about business and making connections between what we do here and what happens in the real world. We always joke that other college students are working 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM jobs, but we work 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM. The hours are long, but watching the students enjoy their experience and get the most out of it is by far the most exciting thing I’ve seen this summer!

Street: Have you learned anything new about business and entrepreneurship through your position? RS: I have! At Yale, our lecture professor was Dr. Steven Rogers from Harvard Business School; he taught about entrepreneurship, finance, and shared his own business experiences. At Fordham, we have Professor Regis Clifford from St. John's University lecturing on the basics of business, social media, and management. We also have leadership sessions on personality type, communication, conflict resolution, and how to be your best self. I learn so much from the simulations and lectures, but more than anything, I learn every day from the students and my fellow staff members!