Demo Day for The Branch Academy to highlight high school students’ efforts

WAUSAU — The Branch Academy will host a Demo Day on Wednesday, August 16 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Community Room at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau. The event will include a presentation by high school students to a leadership team from NTC. Over the span of ten weeks, students in The Branch Academy have worked on an innovation challenge for the college.

The Branch Academy is a new program for high school students. This summer, The Branch Academy offered juniors and seniors an opportunity to earn college credit while showcasing their talents for business and community leaders.

“This is an opportunity for students to enter an environment where they can apply their classroom skills and transfer it into a real-world business setting.” said Dave Eckmann, President/CEO of the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce.

The Branch and The Branch Academy are workforce development initiatives formed in partnership by the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce, Northcentral Technical College and Church Mutual Insurance Company. The programs are skills accelerators which build businesses and aim to retain talent in central Wisconsin. Both programs teach collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity through the exercise of innovation and entrepreneurship. River Valley Bank and AROW Global are also sponsors of the programs and Westphal Staffing Inc a supporter.

“The Branch’s Demo Day is a real example of business, higher education and our Chamber working together to help our students build their resumes and to give them opportunities to work with businesses.” said Dr. Lori Weyers, President of Northcentral Technical College.

Those interested in attending Demo Day should register at WausauChamber.com or RSVP by Friday, August 11 to Brian Otten, marketing manager at the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce at [email protected] or 715-848-5947.

Videos recapping previous Demo Day events are available on The Branch’s YouTube channel.

College students are encouraged to apply for The Branch’s fall 2017 and spring 2018 cohorts. For more information or to register as a student or mentor, visit The Branch’s website. Businesses that are interested in the program can also register projects through the site or contact Renae Krings, talent development director at the Chamber, at [email protected] or 715-848-5942.