Griffin, Lakeview Middle School AVID students hear from Nebraska Furniture Mart

By Heather M. Goodwin | hgoodwin@starlocalmedia.com | The Colony Courier-Leader

On Oct. 7, Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM)’s director of human resources, Megan Berry Barlow, spoke to Griffin Middle School and Lakeview Middle School AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) sixth, seventh and eighth grade students about the company and the strategies they implemented to make the company successful. In addition, The Colony City Councilman Kirk Mikulec joined Barlow to welcome the students and introduce the special guest.

In preparation for the visit from NFM, the AVID students researched the company and developed questions they wanted to ask Barlow following her presentation. They discussed their questions in class and, as a group, narrowed down the best questions to ask.

“We talked about the appropriate ways to listen and take notes during a presentation,” said Andrea Treaccar, GMS AVID teacher. “The students are excited to hear from NFM because representatives from the company have been visiting our school in the last year or so, and they are so excited to see the company when it’s finished and built [in The Colony.]”

Nebraska Furniture Mart’s Barlow spoke to the students about the history of the company, a brief overview about herself and her journey to NFM and shared facts about the successful company. During her presentation, she held mini-quizzes and asked students to participate.

AVID is a global, non-profit organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other post-secondary opportunities. LISD provides 11 secondary campuses in The Colony High School and Lewisville High School feeder patterns with AVID programming, and seven percent of the students (more than 1,000) are enrolled in the course. This fall, the Marcus High School feeder pattern will have the opportunity to participate in the AVID program.