Local Sixth-Graders Tour the Smith School
Smith Alum Helps Sponsor Their College Education

Earlier this month (July 2003), 30 Washington, D.C., six-graders who are part of Project 312 visited the Smith School to learn about business and tour Van Munching Hall. Smith alum Bob Pincus 68, chairman of MMP Capital Partners and retired president of BB&T, Washington Region, and his wife, Roxanne Little, with two other area philanthropists (Harry Nick and Laurence Siegel), formed Project 312, the 176th chapter of the national "I Have A Dream" Foundation, in June 2002 with the ultimate goal of sending disadvantaged students in Washington, D.C., to college.

They were inspired by challenges that teacher Nicholas Ehrmann experienced during his first year teaching at Emery Elementary School in Washington, D.C., as a Teach for America (TFA) corps member in fourth-grade classroom number 312. Ehrmann is now executive director of Project 312, which provides a long-term support network to combat the negative socio-economic forces that result in educational failure.

During their visit to Smith, the students mostly 11-year-olds participated in a business game and compiled a stock portfolio in the Netcentric Financial Markets Laboratory with the help of Smith School student mentors.

When asked by Kelly McQueary, advisor and assistant director of undergraduate programs at Smith, "How do you get money?" Many students responded that they received an allowance for doing chores. One student said, "I beg for money from my mom!"

"This would be called, Bargaining!" said McQueary. The business game required students to observe six scenarios and decide how they wanted to use 12 pieces of candy to spend on the various items. They could spend one to three pieces on each item, but if they werent careful they would not have enough "money" for all items.

Afterwards, the students went to the Finance Lab. The lab emphasizes hands-on learning and utilizes the latest in technology. Real-time data and analytical tools are provided by Reuters and displayed on Daktronics electronic display boards and a 20-foot electronic stock ticker. Students were asked, with the help of their undergraduate mentor, to compile a stock portfolio. The team with the best portfolio won a prize.

"The Smith School is working on a number of strategies to ensure that our student body is diverse, including mentoring of students at Woodson High School in Washington, D.C., by our undergraduate students, hosting high school students from New York and Chicago to campus," said Pat Cleveland, assistant dean of undergraduate programs at Smith. "This is another part of our outreach, to encourage students to pursue their college education and consider careers in business."

For more information on Project 312, please visit http://www.project312.org