Rutgers University Business for Youth program assists high school students in career development

Rutgers University Business for Youth (RUBY) is a pre-college program for high school students in underserved communities that exists to introduce them to college and different career paths in the business field through various activities and guidance.

Ronald Richter, an assistant professor of professional practice in the Department of Finance and Economics and director of RUBY’s summer program, said the curriculum for the program is designed to improve students’ skills related to business acumen as well as soft skills such as resume writing and public speaking. 

Students are eligible to register for RUBY in their sophomore year of high school and remain in the program until their senior year, he said.

“The goal is to get students thinking about their longer-term life as opposed to their shorter-term life, both from a business perspective ... but also from a soft skill perspective,” Richter said. “We try to bring in people so that the students have interactions with more than just their college mentor, but with other people outside the role in the real world ... we also bring professors to talk them about different disciplines.”

Riya Sheth, a Rutgers Business School senior and co-president of RUBY, said the curriculum is designed in a way where the skills that the students learn can be applied to anything that they want to do, regardless of whether it is in the business field. The connections that the students make with mentors and professionals at Rutgers is one of the most important aspects of the program, she said.

During their first year in the program, students receive lessons in writing business plans, compete in a business plan competition and are taken on at least one trip to a corporate facility, according to the program’s webpage.

In their second year, students are brought on field trips, listen to faculty and recruiter speakers, and learn about the Educational Opportunity Fund program and how to prepare for the SAT, according to the webpage. Students focus on applying to Rutgers Business School and other colleges in their third year as well as work with and receive mentoring from current students.

RUBY was started nine years ago by Martin Markowitz, senior associate dean of Rutgers Business School, who first launched the program in the Elizabeth, New Jersey, area, Richter said. It was later revitalized seven years later by Rutgers alumna Ankita Kodali, who was able to develop the program in six schools in total.

“The idea was to not just go for those underrepresented communities, but let's see if we can get schools involved — let's get some momentum going with the program,” Richter said. “It was hard to get some of the schools engaged — not so much from a student perspective, but more from an adult perspective.”

Last year, the program had approximately 200 students, said Ajay Pandya, a Rutgers Business School senior and co-president of RUBY. This year, the total number of participants will increase to approximately 250 students from cities and towns such as Jackson Township, North Brunswick, East Orange, Asbury Park, Piscataway, South River and Sayreville.

“When you first enter college, things start moving really quickly,” Pandya said. “In high school, you don’t have that same exposure, especially to the business world that I think our program helps offer to the high school students … Just being ready one step earlier, I think, is super important.”

Through RUBY, Sheth said students can determine whether they are actually interested in the business field and which career path they would want to take within business. She said that due to the fast and demanding pace of campus recruiting, it is beneficial to understand these aspects earlier on.

Sheth said that it would be interesting to see how many students from the program will end up enrolled at Rutgers Business School and continue to stay involved with the program as college mentors.

“On a college mentor's side, there’s a lot to be learned and a lot to be taken away from the program,” she said. “We’re always there to be peers and be helpful to everyone … There’s an environment that we’re trying to cultivate where there’s a spot for everyone, and there’s something that you can take away from it.”