On January 9th, Patchogue Medford’s Virtual Enterprise teams packed their bags and drove out to the Long Island Regional Competition in hopes to set our school’s record for most medals won. Of course, this was no simple matter. It required lots of careful planning and preparation. The question is, was it good enough?

VE is an “educational nonprofit program that transforms students through authentic business experiences that prepare them for fulfilling financially secure futures.” At the regional competition, firms from all across Long Island competed for the best presentations, booths, websites, branding, and more while simultaneously networking with other schools to develop professional relationships across the virtual market.

Patchogue Medford high school sent two firms to this competition: NOVA, and Genesis. Both companies are very passionate and ambitious. Thus, months prior to the competition, both groups built booths for sales, developed working websites, as well as wrote carefully thought out business plans.

Stephanie Sheridan, the CEO of NOVA shares, “building and developing things for the competition was hard. We really needed to work together and plan things out carefully to make sure we met deadlines. Despite the work and time it took, we were all highly motivated. Not only did we all want to win awards, but we also wanted to make Mr. Butzke (the teacher for VE) proud being that he is retiring this year.”

No doubt, competition day was tense but both companies managed to have a great time. When they first arrived at Long Island University, the first mission was to set up the booth. Once this was completed, employees immediately went out to make sales while the presentation team went out to the oral competition. 

To get a better understanding of what the day is like in the eyes of the presentation team, a member was asked about her experience. Alyssa Madera, also COO of NOVA states, “Being a member of NOVA’s Presentation Team means that you don’t experience the event the same way as the rest of your class. We all felt nervous and confident right before our presentation, However, we all believe we did our best. At the end of the day, I was so proud of my team”. 

While the presentation team was hard at work, the rest of the company was focused on making sales. This was done by talking to other students, adults, and judges. Carefully prepared and developed sales pitches were used to gain the attention of others towards company products. Of course, this did not come easy for some.

Ivy Ma, CPO of NOVA shares, “The trade show was an eye-opening experience. All the firms that participated were very creative and friendly. However, going in I was unsettled about communicating with others and making sales pitches but by the end of the day, I had so much fun and felt so much more comfortable interacting with others.”

Kylie Peregoy, the Sales manager shares a similar feeling. “My experience at the trade show was unforgettable! It gave me an opportunity to not only learn but meet new people and make new friends!”

So now the big question: did NOVA win any awards? No doubt they did! They didn’t just win one, they won six. NOVA walked away with four gold medals in website development, company handbook, commercial and newsletters, and two silver medals in the brand guide and sales materials.

“I am beyond proud of all of the hard work from everyone in NOVA. We have all put in so much time and effort into making a successful company and it is so great seeing everything come together. I feel as though this is the best Virtual Enterprise class we have ever had and I am so excited to compete at Nationals in a few months. All of our success could not be possible without our very supportive school staff, teachers, and classmates that make our company so successful” says Stephanie Sheridan. T

his incredible achievement puts NOVA on a path to set a school record of most awards won in VE. With the national competitions coming up, who knows how many more awards NOVA will win!