THE
ARROW
VOLUME XXXVI, ISSUE 5
100 N. LAKEVIEW CANYON ROAD, WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 91362
APRIL 1, 2014
PHOTO BY LAURIE LOOKER
FOUNDING FRAMERS: Swipe ID members, Vivian Hu, Lauren Chin, Kameron Butler, Hanson Shen, and Scott Wooldridge, pose in Washington D.C., where they competed at the Junior Achievement National Leadership Conference, spending three days presenting their business model and emulating our nation’s founders.
Swipe ID: How to make a model business
Orly Greenberg Opinion Editor
which goes by JA, focuses on business literacy and encourages the growth of financial and entrepreneurial skills among teens. WHS participated in a 12 week program, in which the JA chapter forms a business and competes in the JA Company of the Year competition against other local high schools.
The feathered headdress isn’t hard to miss. Neither is the elaborate mask, white eyes glowing underneath the creamy smears of black, orange, and blue paint. The warrior getup not only makes the figure impossible to ignore, it makes him impossible to identify. The only distinguishable feature of Kameron Butler ’14 is a beaming smile as he ushers students in line and gleefully scans IDs before a WHS football game. Swipe ID has been a staple at WHS since its conception last year. However, while the program is widely known around campus, the true breadth of Swipe ID’s accomplishments have yet to be fully recognized. So, without further ado, a comprehensive look at WHS’s most innovative, student led program.
To kick off the 12 week competition, JA brings in a local entrepreneur or business owner to brainstorm company ideas, a process known as “germination.” The idea of gathering points through participation in school activities was casually mentioned in the last brainstorm session, but seriously gained traction once Butler went home and expanded the idea.
What is Swipe ID?
The Competition
According to Butler, Swipe ID is “an innovative point reward system designed to reenergize student engagement in the classroom and rejuvenate school spirit.” Essentially, students go to events, accumulate points, and are consequently rewarded.
What is JA?
To fully understand the birth of Swipe ID, one must first be acquainted with Junior Achievement. The club,
How was Swipe ID created?
Once a business model was created, the WHS JA chapter went to compete against 15 local schools at the Southern California level. Swipe ID excelled in the competition, collecting accolades such as Best Tradeshow, Best Presentation, and Company of the Year for the region. From there, JA was selected as one of the 15
schools to compete at a national level. Nationals was a grueling weeklong process, consisting of various networking activities and marketing competitions. The week culminated with a tradeshow in the Capital building, during which members of Congress roamed and explored the proposed businesses. The second part of the competition was a presentation in front of five entrepreneurs. Swipe ID walked away with the Social Media Award (the fledgling company garnered a significant amount of buzz on the internet throughout the week).
Accomplishments and Future
So great, WHS’s chapter of JA started a business. But exactly what is it that makes Swipe ID so enormously impressive? In less than a year, Swipe ID has been fully implemented at WHS. The program is organized based on a point system, so the more points a student earns, the better the prizes. Right now, Swipe ID boasts prizes such as iPods, two tickets of $200 to virtually anything (concert, theme park, etc.) and tablets. Recently, the business gave away gift cards to students boasting good grades, and it continues to sell membership for the program.