business week - Tucson International Academy

TIA Interview Day 2019

Tucson International Academy (TIA) has been building a magnificent Business Program for the students. TIA high school students create their own companies, work out the financials and a 5-year plan for that company, make a website, create a marketing plan along with brochures and so much more. Part of this program is Interview Day.

Interview Day

The TIA Business Program also helps to prepare the students for college by getting them ready for job interviews. Business week is an opportunity for students to get a taste of corporate America. Whether the students decide to go to a business college or a university of their dreams or it’s a job that they get, at the end of the Busines Week, what students have is a lot of experience. They have the opportunity to interview for their dream careers and professions that they really want feedback for.

Many Local Companies Participate in Interview Day

TIA is fortunate to have representatives from local businesses and agencies from Tucson that cover a variety of opportunities come to Interview Day to help interview the students. This week TIA had local law enforcement, military, creative arts, media, veterinarians, veterinarian assistants, education, biotech, engineering and all kinds of other opportunities for the students to interview with.

Showcase: BOSC Beauty - A New TIA Student Created Business

During the Business Interview Day, TIA was able to showcase one business (BOSC Beauty) that a group of their high school students created through the High School Business Program. This student-led company delivered its mission statement, its business plan and also their 5-year plan for the future of the business. They shared their website, products, how and why they created the company, their pamphlets, who they are and the different positions they hold within the company. The business BOSC Beauty consists of jewelry and a soon to be an accessory line at affordably priced products. The main goal of their company is to share today’s beauty trends at an affordable price. Their website lists the products in different categories based on the personalities of their group, so it’s easier for a customer to find what they like based on a personality type. The students feel they will be able to expand their product line into stores within 5 years and bring more jobs into the Tucson area because of the business. Even though their business is mostly online, BOSC Beauty is a local company. They cater to the English speaking market but since TIA teaches all their students Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, they also will cater to those markets as well. You can find them at boscbeauty.wixsite.com/boscbeauty

A Special Thanks to All the Businesses That Participated in Interview Day at TIA

Amy Autret - Tucson Police Dept CSI Andrew Bevington - PIMA County Superintendent’s Office Samantha Blake - Tucson Police Dept CSI Lt. Ashley Carey - Air Force Cynthia Carsten - Tucson Medical Center Dr. Eric Conidez - Pain Institute of Southern Arizona Kim Ebeling - Ebeling Events Evan Gray Davis - J3 Effect James Donovan - RAYTHEON Marisela Felix - Sunnyside Unified School District Gwen Gorbette - PIMA Mark McKenna - Prestamos CDFI Chicanos Por la Causa John Morgan & fellow officers - Tucson Police Dept Kimberly Neal - Eastland Alley Design Co. Steven Schneider - Sanfordhealth.org Sunshine Watson - Southern Arizona Veterinary Clinic Dustin Williams - PIMA County Superintendent Stacey Woodward Dr. Jennifer Herrera - TIA Superintendent

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Why Are Businesses Interviewing TIA Students During Business Week?

Business Week is a major part of the TIA Business Program. On Friday of Business Week, students 8-12 dress up in professional clothes and interview with local companies. We have Chef Mateo Otero from Rollies Mexican Patio, plus representatives from Raytheon, Pima County, nurses from local hospitals and clinics, and many others. This is the students’ best chance to practice an interview that may eventually lead to their dream careers. It’s an opportunity to identify and correct mistakes--much better than interviewing for a job with no practice at all. During these interviews, many of the local companies also offer internships to TIA students which is great work experience and can lead to college scholarships.

Jonathan Basurto, Vice Principal

“Every year we have students that are offered internships. The biggest ones at the beginning of the program were from Jim Click Automotive, where students would work as service managers and technicians. Then they would get scholarships from Jim Click to go to U of A or other schools. We just had a student get offered an awesome internship to the University of Arizona’s pharmacy program. This student wants to be a doctor in the research and development field. Several of our students are really getting into engineering. So we are trying to work as best we can with engineers to get them internships during the summertime.”

Arthur Basurto - AZ Workforce Development/SER Youth Coordinator

“We’re here today to look for some interns. I’m looking for interviewing skills and, students with a good GPA. We look at the way they are dressed, how well they speak for themselves, and what type of vocabulary they have. We listen to their stories and where they came from and looking towards their future--where do they see themselves in the next 5 years. TIA is probably one of the best schools I’ve seen. Being a teacher for 35 years prior to what I’m doing now, I would come to TIA back then if I could be here to be part of this. This is a really good school. It’s a college-bound school. It’s a true career path school. ”

Minette Mercado, TIA student

“I learned a lot of great things today! This helped me overcome my fear of doing interviews and gave me more experience. You learn how to ask good questions during the process to show that you’re interested.”

Unice Reyes, Senior Class President

“Today we have interviews with the professions that we are interested in. Most of us got internships from one of the companies represented here today. This is a great opportunity for us to explore before we go off to college. I got an internship from the U of A for pharmacy. I’m excited because my future is just beginning. So this is a good opportunity for me to start that way.”

Jose Diaz, TIA student

“Today I was offered a potential internship for mechanical engineering at Raytheon.”

Luan Ojeda, TIA student

“Today we are doing our interviews. I had an interview with Raytheon. The career I’d like to have is an aeronautical engineer. The potential internship I have is at Raytheon for aeronautical and mechanical. The most important thing to learn today was that you could get over your fears of talking to people and things will get easier. ”

Ray Donovan, Raytheon

“There’s a lot of opportunities. You’ve got a lot of runway ahead of you. Raytheon is going to focus on the best and brightest. They are on the right path. This is a group that is really putting in a lot of effort. This is my fourth year here. It’s been really really fun to watch and see the progression of skills. If you want to be competitive, you want to intern at Raytheon. There’s a lot of benefits. I did it for a couple of years. You will get paid much better than you will sitting in one of the areas at the university that you are going to. You will get skills and networking. But you have to keep that GPA up. I don’t care at all if you fail at something. In fact, failing is usually a big plus. Engineering is all about trying something, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, and reiterating until you get something that works. We need the best and brightest. And we’ve got some of the best and brightest here. The key is to make sure they are aware of the skills and decisions they can make tomorrow that will help them work with us in the future.”

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Business Week 2016

Business Week is held at TIA in December. All students in the business class, grades 8-12, are required to come to school in business attire, girls in appropriate business dress and boys in suits and ties. Everyone learns to develop their sense of professionalism and work on their resumes. Then they have “Interview Day,” where local business owners interview the students. It is a time for the students to build skills they need when they enter the workforce. Besides the great experience this provides for future job hunting, some students actually receive internships and jobs after their interviews.

Presentation Days

Included in Business week is "Presentation Days." In the business class prior to Presentation Days, the students create a business. They do this by looking at the world around them and thinking of a business idea that will solve an environmental, logistical or a social problem. The students work in small groups for a couple of months, hash out ideas to make a business come to life, become CEO's, web designers, accountants, and create websites, brochures, business plan, etc. in three languages (English, Spanish, Chinese). Then they share their business ideas in those three languages at Presentation Days to different business people. Everyone who attends listens intently, asks questions and takes lots of pictures. It's an amazing experience for all involved.

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