BTX Blog

BTX has long believed that investing in our future leaders is an integral part of today’s business world. Says BTX President, Ross Bacarella “I feel our young people need to be exposed to a realistic work environment outside of the classroom where they can gain valuable insight into the inner workings of a real company.”

So teaming up three years ago to partner with St Joseph High School’s FUTURES program in Trumbull, Connecticut was an obvious fit. St Joe’s describes its goals with FUTURES as ‘developing career awareness, professional networking skills, and mature college decision making.’ It also certainly provides these graduating seniors with a source of focus before their college careers have even begun.

Says Bacarella: “Too many kids go off to college without a direction. The experience these kids get from this program will aid in their future success, both academically and beyond. In addition, BTX gains exposure to a core group of motivated young people that one day may be valuable assets in our own industry.”

This year, the day spent at BTX was a mix of hands-on and discussion-based sessions. 15 students were given a bird’s eye view of the company, with presentations from Chief Operating Officer Brian McConaghy and Chief Financial Officer Greg Stillwagon. Chief Creative Officer Jenn Deenihan delved into the connection of social media and an integrated approach to marketing in the industry.

Armed with this introduction and buckets of enthusiasm, the students split into smaller groups to create their own ‘product’. From LED screens, to a male beauty products line, to a product that will slip over shopping trolleys to protect the hands of any germaphobe…there definitely was fantastic product diversity in the room.

Ultimately, the mock businesses were faced with the challenges of managing a supply chain. BTX led each group through the transportation process of getting their products manufactured, warehoused and finally shipped to market. For the students, this was an unexpected side to the business world that they have not considered.

“The air cargo industry is somewhat of an unknown to many—certainly to high school seniors just starting out on their own paths,” explains Bacarella. “Pulling back the curtain on how air freight winds its way though the supply chain of all business is exciting, even at this stage in their lives. It’s definitely rewarding for BTX Global Logistics to be a part of that.”