Mastic Beach, NY - May 17, 2017 - The William Floyd High School Business Department recently hosted an “Elevator Pitch” competition in which students were tasked with coming up with a memorable presentation about themselves and delivering it to a chief executive officer (CEO) of a company in 90 seconds or less. Eleven WFHS students in grades nine through 12 competed in the competition, which is designed to help students learn essential communication and networking skills, gain self-confidence and more.
“The idea behind having an elevator speech is that students are prepared to share information about themselves with anyone, at any time,” said Karen Poidomani, William Floyd High School business teacher and Career and Technical Education chairperson. “At a career fair, students can use an ‘elevator speech’ to introduce themselves to prospective employers.”
During the competition, students tried to make a lasting first impression by telling about themselves, what they offer and more. The CEO was played by William Floyd High School business teacher and Future Business Leaders of America co-advisor, Lee Cillo, and took place in front of the judges from the WFHS Industry Advisory Board and fellow business teacher, James Rugolo. To provide the effect of a real meeting in an elevator, each “impromptu” encounter took place in front of an elevator pictured on a whiteboard complete with instrumental elevator music playing in the background.
Winning this year’s competition was freshman Isabella Harkin, who impressed the judges with her speech and composure. Senior Joshua Soto came in second and freshman Jarod Scott finished third. Also earning honorable mentions in a very close competition were senior Kaitlyn Hedges and freshman Terence Jackson.