This week’s Teacher of the Week is Mrs. Sandra Stueber.

Mrs. Stueber works in the business department, and she joined the Whitman family last November. She taught Accounting and Career Exploration. Before teaching, Mrs. Stueber worked in the business world. She started at Dean Witter as a registered trading assistant and then went on to Reuters to work in the Financial services department. Mrs. Stueber traveled around training traders, brokers, and analysts on how to use and interpret financial software to make their market decisions.

Mrs. Stueber wakes up around 5 AM every morning to get dressed and leave before her twin 12-year-old boys wake up. She gets to Whitman at 6:15 to set up her day and doesn’t leave until around 3:30. At home, she starts her “second day” with her husband and kids. Her boys play football, baseball, and basketball, so her nights are filled with practices and games, as well as helping with homework and preparing dinner.

This year, Mrs. Stueber teaches Personal Finance, Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Sports & Entertainment Management, Business Law, and the all-new Virtual Enterprise class. Mrs. Stueber is especially excited about VE, which she calls “a totally unique type of class.” VE is a full-year course with an elective weighting, and it is available for six college credits. Virtual Enterprise is a virtual business world with five different departments. Next year there will be a full administration department with a CEO, CFO, COO, a sales and marketing department, a human resources department, a design and IT department, an administration department, and an accounting department. Each of the departments works independently but towards the same goal (just like a real company operates).

Students actually create a business from the ground-up in VE. They create products, company financials, websites, employee manuals, write a business plan, perfect elevator pitches, make sales pitches, commercials, and attend trade shows. They also purchase products from VE classes in other schools on the virtual marketplace.

However, a big part of VE is self-motivation. Virtual Enterprise is an exciting departure from the traditional classroom structure where a teacher stands in the front and lectures. In VE, you learn through hands-on experiences and trial-and-error. Mrs. Stueber is not the teacher, but the boss, who sets deadlines and meetings. Therefore, you must keep on top of your work as the whole class is depending on you to stay on schedule,

VE students also compete against other VE classes across the country. Most competitions are completed by a specific department and then submitted online for judging. However, the class will also go to trade shows and practice selling and pitching their products to sellers. While VE can be challenging at times, the “opportunities are as endless as how creative you can be.”

Interview:

1) If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only bring one other Whitman faculty member, who would you bring? Why?

    I would bring Mr. Varlamos because he’s funny, organized and the Greeks are always able to find food.

2) If you could, what class would you take at Whitman and who would you want the teacher to be?

After sitting outside of Graziano’s room all last year listening to Crime, I’d have to take one of his classes.

3) If you could, what club/sport would join at Whitman and why? What sport/club would you not join?

    I’d love to join football because I love the sport. I’d never join basketball because hello, I’m short.

    4) What is one class that your department does not offer but you think it should?

A stock market class…so many things to learn about investing.

    5) What is your favorite wing/classroom in Whitman? Why?

    That is a loaded question. Of course, my favorite classroom is 521 because it’s mine….

    6) If you could choose to be in any position at Whitman other than your own, what would it be? Why?

    I’d love to be a student senior year; you have it all ahead of you.

    7) Finally, are there any other miscellaneous fun facts that you would like to share?

    If you want to know anything else about me, take a business class.  You’ll learn pretty fast that I have a hard time NOT sharing.