Pali High Students Compete in Bakersfield

Writer Julia Abbott Gives a Rundown of Events

By JULIA ABBOTT | Intern

Palisades Charter High School’s Virtual Enterprise Team attended a statewide conference in Bakersfield on January 27 through 28, where we won multiple awards. Virtual Enterprise is an international program that allows high school teams to simulate running a business. While the products aren’t real and the money is all virtual, teams from across the country create business plans, commercials and elevator pitches.

Pali High sent two teams, Recharge Bitez and Bevbox, to the California State Conference and Exhibition. Teams came from Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, Calexico, San Diego, South Pasadena and beyond.

“We look forward to Bakersfield every year because it gives the students the opportunity to compete and also interact with students from all different backgrounds and areas of California,” Teacher Bradley Kolavo said.

Bevbox won a bronze level in the Sales Competition, and Recharge Bitez won a bronze level in the Newsletter Competition. Recharge Bitez also won a gold level in the Elevator Pitch, with a second overall finish. Cameron Mahmoodi competed for Bevbox, with a succinct and evidence-based pitch, while I competed for Recharge Bitez.

However, the two-day long competition brought more than just business success.

All of the students were able to spend time together, bonding and making new friends. My favorite moment on the trip wasn’t standing on stage and accepting the trophy for the Elevator Pitch, it was driving around in circles trying to find a prison while our entire class frantically searched for it on Google Maps.

We all grew closer—in between making waffles before the big day and filming Tiktoks. It is an experience I doubt many of us will ever forget.

Although I have the good fortune to be the CEO of Recharge Bitez, every successful business (even an imaginary one) is a group effort. I would have never placed second without my teammate, Cindy. Half an hour before I competed, she timed my pitch, fixed my hair and gave me a pep talk.

Even though the competition is peppered with individual success, everything stems from our team.

Everyone on the team learned important lessons, from how to effectively sell a product to tips on business management.

“Personally, I feel really proud of my department as a whole because for the past few months I feel like we were in a lull and didn’t really understand the direction we wanted to go into,”  VP of Communications Angie Pace said. “But, after receiving the bronze, it just solidified the thought that our collaboration really did pay off.”

“Learning about business vocabulary and strategies and applying them to the real world has been a great and fortunate experience for me,” Marketing Associate Yahir Lopez added. “I enjoy communicating and hearing others’ thoughts and perspectives.”

Not only did we return with some certificates and a trophy, but everyone on our team grew closer and learned something new.

“It was a great experience meeting students from all over the state and seeing the ways we could differentiate our product,” Margo Barret, COO of Bevbox, said.

After months of preparation, hours of work and pages of rough drafts, the Pali teams both returned with something to be proud of.

For Pali students, hard work paid off.