Rubin Emerge Teaches CA High Schoolers to Send Emails to NBA, MLB Execs
In the photo, student officers from the virtual company, Resha Hemp, pose with Rubin books of templates provided as ebooks inside the Emerge online program. Stockdale High School’s CTE classes rely on Emerge to help students communicate with business professionals.
At Rubin Education, we teach students practical employability skills they can apply in the real world.
That mission was never truer than inside a classroom in fall 2019 at Stockdale High School in Bakersfield, CA.
Teacher Brian Devitt led his students through the first module in the Emerge online program called Email Etiquette — Beginner. Devitt is also an adviser for Virtual Enterprises International (VEI), an educational nonprofit that allows students to create and run mock businesses.
In the Email Etiquette — Beginner unit, Stockdale students learned to create an appropriate email address, understand the difference between a text message and proper email and, finally, draft an entire email from the subject line down to the email signature.
And once the students learned to write an email, they composed messages to one minor league sports executive and two major league executives in the hopes of “selling” (it’s all for practice) promotional items at upcoming games.
The separate messages went to the vice president of operations for the Bakersfield Condors (AHL minor league hockey), assistant director of stadium operations for the Portland Trailblazers (NBA) and a ticketing official with the San Francisco Giants (MLB).
The students also held a sales-pitch phone call with Richard Fedesco, the Trailblazers executive.
A Stockdale High School student uses the Emerge online program to practice email etiquette for the professional world. The book, Wait, How Do I Promote My Business?, is provided in the website as an ebook.
“Rubin Education teaches my students the skills they need to professionally communicate with real-world business people,” said Devitt. “The employability skills my students learned from the program will stick with them for years to come.”
The email was so compelling, it led to a “business contract” with the San Francisco Giants. In January 2020, the students entered the California VEI state competition and placed third statewide in the Business Plan category. The students will now compete at the VEI National Business Plan Competition in New York City in the spring.
“The business contract with the San Francisco Giants has had an enormous impact on our success and provided judges with proof of the feasibility of our company’s idea to sell promotional items at an upcoming game,” said Lauren Hawkins, CEO of the student group.
For reference, here’s a sample of the email students wrote to Justin Fahsbender with the Condors hockey team:
Dear Mr. Fahsbender,
We’d love to discuss creating a contract with the Condors to virtually sell Condors Fanny Packs, Drawstring Bags, and Tote Bags. The products we make are unique in that they’re made of industrial hemp, a material that often goes to waste in large scale manufacturing. From what we’ve researched, attendance for the Condors games is approximately 5,000 fans per game, so our package would be relative to those numbers (about 5,000 units).
We’re excited to work with you! If you have any questions, feel free to email myself or our director, Brian Devitt. Thank you for your time!
[Student’s first and last name]
Chief Operating Officer – Resha Hemp
—
Does that email seem like it’s written by a sales professional and not a high school student?
We think so too. At Rubin Education, we prepare students to communicate in the real world with poise and polish.
If you want to teach your students employability skills via email (as well as over the phone and in person), Rubin Education is ready to help.
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