http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/taratreaster/24520 First and for-most I want to personally and publicly Thank Tamara Combs and Carlos Sardo for taking such wonderful care of the Virtual Business Team while away. I never once worried about Liz, knowing she was in such great hands.&nbsp; THANK YOU BOTH! My seventeen year old daughter had an amazing opportunity to travel last week to New York to compete at a national level in &quot;Virtual Business&quot;.&nbsp; This is a high school class offered through KHSD.&nbsp; I posted a piece on the N.W . Voice.com about this trip, a week and a half ago, congratulating the team on their trip.&nbsp; They earned it by winning fourth at the state competition in November. Now I wanted to follow up with some photos and share some of the academic &amp; non academic highlights and &quot;once in a life time opportunities&quot; this trip provided.&nbsp; A small group of students (5) were accompanied by two adults, Teacher, Tamara Combs and Administrator, Carlos Sardo for a week long adventure to New York.&nbsp; While there, the team took fourth place nationally for the business plan they created and presented.&nbsp; They participated in the New York City International Trade Fair with &quot;companies&quot; from around the world.&nbsp; Although the money is fake, everything else was as real as could be.&nbsp; Set up, break down, long hours, hard work, selling and purchasing from others, to name a few of the activities they did.&nbsp; Their own presentation in front of eight judges and questions after, by far, brought on the most pressure.&nbsp; But to let off some steam this team also had a great time!&nbsp; At the top of the list the group got to see the outstanding Broadway Musical, &quot;Wicked&quot;, they went ice skating at Rockefeller Center, took a trip to Ellis Island, toured the financial district, went to the top of the Empire State Building, shopped, ate at amazing restaurants and delis and all in all had an unforgettable trip. This is not only an amazing class and program, it is a great way for high school students to learn about what the real world is like.&nbsp; If your high school students are at all interested in Business, get them hooked up and in this class.&nbsp; Even if they're not, they may take the class and change their lives forever.&nbsp; That's what happened for my daughter.&nbsp; The lawyer, turned International Business. To read more on Virtual Business SEE &quot;Games Are More Important Than You Think&quot; a posted blog by Tim Goree on the home page of this site. &nbsp; First and for-most I want to personally and publicly Thank Tamara Combs and Carlos Sardo for taking such wonderful care of the Virtual Business Team while away. I never once worried about Liz, knowing she was in such great hands.&nbsp; THANK YOU BOTH! My seventeen year old daughter had an amazing opportunity to travel last week to New York to compete at a national level in &quot;Virtual Business&quot;.&nbsp; This is a high school class offered through KHSD.&nbsp; I posted a piece on the N.W . Voice.com about this trip, a week and a half ago, congratulating the team on their trip.&nbsp; They earned it by winning fourth at the state competition in November. Now I wanted to follow up with some photos and share some of the academic &amp; non academic highlights and &quot;once in a life time opportunities&quot; this trip provided.&nbsp; A small group of students (5) were accompanied by two adults, Teacher, Tamara Combs and Administrator, Carlos Sardo for a week long adventure to New York.&nbsp; While there, the team took fourth place nationally for the business plan they created and presented.&nbsp; They participated in the New York City International Trade Fair with &quot;companies&quot; from around the world.&nbsp; Although the money is fake, everything else was as real as could be.&nbsp; Set up, break down, long hours, hard work, selling and purchasing from others, to name a few of the activities they did.&nbsp; Their own presentation in front of eight judges and questions after, by far, brought on the most pressure.&nbsp; But to let off some steam this team also had a great time!&nbsp; At the top of the list the group got to see the outstanding Broadway Musical, &quot;Wicked&quot;, they went ice skating at Rockefeller Center, took a trip to Ellis Island, toured the financial district, went to the top of the Empire State Building, shopped, ate at amazing restaurants and delis and all in all had an unforgettable trip. This is not only an amazing class and program, it is a great way for high school students to learn about what the real world is like.&nbsp; If your high school students are at all interested in Business, get them hooked up and in this class.&nbsp; Even if they're not, they may take the class and change their lives forever.&nbsp; That's what happened for my daughter.&nbsp; The lawyer, turned International Business. To read more on Virtual Business SEE &quot;Games Are More Important Than You Think&quot; a posted blog by Tim Goree on the home page of this site. &nbsp; en-us Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:37:54 PDT <p> Tara -</p> <p>Thanks for the update.  What an accomplishment for these Goldenhawks to place fourth in the entire nation!  That's awesome!  And what an experience to boot.  I, myself, have never even been to New York but I long to go.  I'm glad they all had a wonderful time and were able to enjoy this opportunity to the fullest extent.</p> <p>P.S. - The pictures are incredible.</p> <p>--Sheri</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/taratreaster/24520/#c_222621 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/taratreaster/24520/#c_222621 <p> Tara -</p> <p>Thanks for the update.  What an accomplishment for these Goldenhawks to place fourth in the entire nation!  That's awesome!  And what an experience to boot.  I, myself, have never even been to New York but I long to go.  I'm glad they all had a wonderful time and were able to enjoy this opportunity to the fullest extent.</p> <p>P.S. - The pictures are incredible.</p> <p>--Sheri</p> <p>Tara, thank you SO much for posting this update.&nbsp; Sheri's right...the pictures are amazing, and they make me so envious!&nbsp; I can't WAIT to hear more about this in a future story!! (wink)</p> <p>Congrats to our Smarty Hawks!&nbsp; I'm sooo proud of these kids and how well they represented Northwest Bakersfield -- 4th in the nation!!!&nbsp; They rock!</p> <p>Thanks to our resident computer guru, Tim, too, for blogging about the virtual games.</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/taratreaster/24520/#c_222658 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/taratreaster/24520/#c_222658 <p>Tara, thank you SO much for posting this update.&nbsp; Sheri's right...the pictures are amazing, and they make me so envious!&nbsp; I can't WAIT to hear more about this in a future story!! (wink)</p> <p>Congrats to our Smarty Hawks!&nbsp; I'm sooo proud of these kids and how well they represented Northwest Bakersfield -- 4th in the nation!!!&nbsp; They rock!</p> <p>Thanks to our resident computer guru, Tim, too, for blogging about the virtual games.</p> <p> Nice job on your first true blog entry - you've got pictures, excitement, and even a mention of one of my favorite blogs - HAHA.</p> <p>My trip to NYC with the Virtual Enterprise kids back in the spring of 2001 was a life changer for me, too!  I'll never forget my experiences with the students, the teachers, and true business interaction.</p> <p>The musical Wicked was also a good call.  I've seen it 3 times in L.A., but I would jump at the chance to see it on Broadway - brilliant show....</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/taratreaster/24520/#c_223613 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/taratreaster/24520/#c_223613 <p> Nice job on your first true blog entry - you've got pictures, excitement, and even a mention of one of my favorite blogs - HAHA.</p> <p>My trip to NYC with the Virtual Enterprise kids back in the spring of 2001 was a life changer for me, too!  I'll never forget my experiences with the students, the teachers, and true business interaction.</p> <p>The musical Wicked was also a good call.  I've seen it 3 times in L.A., but I would jump at the chance to see it on Broadway - brilliant show....</p>