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Endorsement Stories

Stay up to date with the latest stories about academics! From student projects to student successes, see what's going on with our academic department. 
Business Newsletter - February 2022
Business Newsletter - February 2022

Business Newsletter - February 2022

Welcome to our winter edition of the Business Endorsement newsletter. We have many fine news pieces that highlight our Valor students, both current and alumni. Students have been busy finding their place in our business activities, whether that is the classroom, DECA, investment club or the business guest lecture series. Valor is pleased to announce its 1st Business Endorsement Night on February 15. An RVSP link will be available soon. It will be an exciting night!
The DECA State Championships will happen late this month with 66 of Valor’s finest competing at the Broadmoor Hotel. Finally, the guest lecture series started January 26. Read on and see what is happening at Valor!

Mr. David Haar
Business Department Chair and Business Endorsement Leader

DECA District 4 Competition Champions

Ninety Valor students competed in the DECA District 4 competition. Our community was well represented in both behavior and excellence. Valor took home the District Championship, qualifying 47 students for the State Championship which will be held at the Broadmoor this month. Highlands Ranch High School took 2nd place with 29 students.

Click here for a listing of our award recipients. Congratulations to each one! We did our best to capture a picture of the group, but we missed a few.

Thank you to Mrs. Teresa Kozan, Mrs. Kristen Henriques and Dr. Laura Dykstra for attending and assisting our students. 

Business Endorsement Night - February 15

The Valor Business Department will host its first red-carpet Business Endorsement Night! Mark your calendars and plan to attend. This night will highlight Valor students' business plans which will be submitted to the DECA State Competition. You won't want to miss hearing our professional, intelligent and thoughtful students share their business proposals.

An invitation should land in your in-box soon. Be sure to RSVP. 

Spring Guest Lecture Series

Each spring the Valor Business department welcomes business professionals to speak to our students once a month. This year’s lineup is once again a stellar group that will enhance the learning experiences of our students.

John Ramstead kicked off the semester. John is a former F-14 pilot who had a severe accident 10 years ago that put him in the hospital for two years. God has since restored him and he is now the CEO of Beyond Influence.

Guy and Stephanie Coffey will be speaking about their experience in the franchise space.

Sean Millius will be speaking at our March event, bringing in scriptural analogies with Jabez and its connection to the business world.

Last, but not least, several Valor alumni will be interacting with the students on their career trajectories after graduating from Valor.

2021 Valor Graduate News

 

Four Valor alumni who were good friends at Valor all decided to enroll at Indiana University in the fall of 2021 and are fully satisfied with their college selection. The four students from left to right are Owen McGavern, Wolf Sopcich, Alex Henriques and Jackson Case. All four were stellar Valor business students and they had success with Valor’s DECA program. Here are some highlights from interviewing the four of them:

They all started with business courses at Valor in their sophomore year and their interest in business continued to grow. Their interest came from a combination of course work, DECA, business guest speakers and other business activities within the school.

The four of them decided to choose Indiana for their business school reputation. The Kelly School of Business is ranked #8 for business schools. They also wanted a school with incredible school spirit and the atmosphere of Bloomington, IN. So far, their experience there has been great.

When asked about their college workload, all four of them credited Valor for their college preparation. That became apparent to them when they were talking with fellow classmates who are finding college work difficult. 

The advice they would pass on to other students is to make sure you pick a school that fits your personality and career needs. Be sure to get involved and have fun! Thank you gentlemen for your wise words, and all the best at University of Indiana!

Questions?

If you have questions or are interested in learning more about the Business Endorsement Program, please click here.

More Endorsement Stories

“If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it well enough yourself.” 
“If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it well enough yourself.” 

Mrs. Herscovici's Entrepreneurship class finished their unit on "Exploring Opportunities" by researching famous entrepreneurs. In small groups, students researched an entrepreneur of their choice and were made aware of how many times these entrepreneurs had to fail before their ideas became successful. In the midst of this research, we have been discussing the importance of being able to explain our learning. Essentially, “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it well enough yourself.” ― Albert Einstein.

Read More about “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it well enough yourself.” 
Calculus Speed Trap
Calculus Speed Trap

If you travel 40 miles per 60 minutes, what’s your average speed per hour, or what’s your average rate of change (the change in distance over the change in time)? Are they different? Students in AP Calculus played cops and speeders last week in class. Students had the opportunity to use real radar guns and math to try and see if they could catch their classmates speeding along Fairview.

Read More about Calculus Speed Trap
Humanities Alumni Update
Humanities Alumni Update

The Humanities program honored its first class of graduating students this past May 2023 during Valor’s commencement ceremony. We want to regularly include comments from graduates to help give a sense of how the Humanities program prepared them for the next phase of their lives. For our first alumni check-in, we asked Ben Leikam to reflect on how his time in the Humanities program prepared him for college. Here are his thoughts...

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STEM Night 2023
STEM Night 2023

STEM Night was a great success, as students showcased their work through capstone projects, clubs, and competitions. Over 30 projects and interactive demos were highlighted during the evening. In addition, select students received awards for their innovation, creativity, and service through STEM. 

Read More about STEM Night 2023