senior receives national Business Award

All-Access Virtual Business Scholarship Challenge

One of Jessica Piechota’s ah-ha moments was integrating her lawn care service with a catering business, creating additional market opportunities. Another: making her company mobile--operating with trucks only--allowing her to experiment with locations and lower start-up costs.

The entrepreneur is a senior in John Jay High School’s four-year business sequence. While her company exists only virtually, her two-year simulation generated enough profit to place second in the Fall 2021 All-Access Virtual Business Scholarship Challenge, a national competition involving more than 3,500 students.

Senior Jessica Piechota recognized nationally

using accounting, business law, finance and marketing skills as an entrepreneur

“Jessica has achieved enormous success in accounting, business law, finance and in marketing,” said Michael Cohen, instructional lead of John Jay’s Business and Technology Department. “She displays the utmost academic integrity and respect and is always the consummate classmate to her peers. Jessica takes pride in her work and deserves all the accolades that are coming to her."

“It was a pleasure to do,” Jessica said, stepping out of her senior marketing class for a moment to talk about her award. She was comfortable using the Virtual Business simulation software because it’s also used in many of her classes at John Jay. Aspects like hiring employees, making marketing decisions and setting prices are her kind of fun. “It’s what I want to do!”

Jessica said that while she’s loved all of her business classes at John Jay, accounting is a favorite.

She’s looking forward to using what’s she’s learned at John Jay by studying business in college – and running in her own business in the future.