Finalists from the business marketing classes went up against Neuqua and Waubonsie Valley students to propose their ideas for Naperville Park District’s vacant 33 acres of land located at 3252 Wolf’s Crossing. Results were announced last Thursday, and Neuqua won the project. The four Metea students were made up of juniors and seniors, including junior Inaara Babwani, junior Alejandra Cavazos, senior Jenna Jeffirs, and junior Alexis Le.

“Presenting our ideas to the board was a feeling of accomplishment for all of us. We’ve worked really hard on this project and winning the rounds in our school gave us more confidence,” Babwani said.

All marketing students were challenged by the park district to come up with proposals. Top finalists from each class presented their idea to a panel of judges. Once the teachers decided the top proposal from each school, the students presented to the Naperville Park District Board at City Hall.

“The project itself wasn’t hard at all, but it was time consuming and we had to give the presentation about three times, each time better than the previous,” Cavazos said.

Each group had to have a well developed proposal that included market research, conclusion from their data, and a complete budget plan. The students had to keep in mind that the City of Naperville and the Park District needed to approve their whole plan.

“A lot of our ideas were inspired by personal interests and things that we thought would be interesting to have nearby,” Le said.

The girls’ proposal included a multipurpose field, a spa, a dance studio, and a club house. Many of their ideas allowed for further development, such as the field that could be changed depending on the season with a farmers market or ice rink.

The marketing teachers, Pat Brusveen and Andrea Hallam, made it possible for these students to experience real world learning opportunities. The marketing classes continue to follow their motto “Make it Real!”

“The teacher gave us the guidelines and told us what was required for the project, but they really tried to keep themselves so it was all student made. Their biggest role was giving moral support,” Jeffirs said.