SJC students put ideas into practice
Our educational system is often criticised for turning out graduates who are book smart, but have no feel for what real life is all about. One place that rap will not stick is on a particular class at SJC…as I discovered this morning.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It was the ninth Expo that the marketing class of Saint John Junior College has held. The exhibition is a realistic exercise that the students perform for both grades and experience in promoting their products.
Melanie Simmons, Lecturer, SJC Junior College
“Basically we try to expose them to see how they relate with products and services in the outside world and what marketing has to play in those products and services. If they want to be an entrepreneur after graduating from SJC they will have a first hand experience on what to and how to market it and how to produce it.”
The students worked many hours manufacturing the products on display. At one booth, students promoted Ornapple, a local drink made of orange and pineapple.
Irenie Gonzalez, Student
“Well it is a mixture of both orange and pineapple and it is good for your health. They say it?s for diet because it helps the children too when they have cough because it cleans the system.”
Jacqueline Woods
?Is this something you plan to market after you finish school here??
Irenie Gonzalez
?Maybe if it goes well.?
Jacqueline Woods
?Where did you get the idea from??
Irenie Gonzalez
?We wanted to do a drink and we wanted to do a health drink, so we researched on both of them and we came up with orange and pineapple.”
There was the company Signature, which advertising locally manufactured perfumes and colognes.
Rosalie Lodge, Student
“We come up with these perfumes because in Belize the market for perfumes are mostly foreign imported perfumes, so we decided to come up with our own locally made perfumes for Belizeans. We are trying to abide by the government?s buy Belizean and so we came up with this perfume because most perfumes are imported and we are trying to offer Belizeans a locally made perfumes.”
One booth that captured a crowd was Scores, a printing firm that already has been receiving orders for their new calendar that was published for the expo.
Kerby Sutherland, Student
“We see that there is a lot of printing being done, but not enough artistic work to the printing. So we took printing from a different angle to just show how much artistic stuff we can do when we print, like designing the art in printing.”
The teachers say they have been impressed and the students will be judged on two main points.
Lloyd Enriquez, Marketing Lecturer, SJC Junior College
“There is a presentation they had to do in class which is more theoretical, more informative and then there is the expo that we are having today. On the expo they will be graded on criteria like originality, attractiveness of the booth and generally how they answer questions when they are asked from the general student body and public.”
The students say they do not know if they will actually be marketing the products, but depending on the response they receive they just might establish a business of their own.
And when they do we’d be happy to see them advertise right here on Channel 5.
