Business in the Big Apple – UPAL Visits NYC

Emily Rose

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The UPAL business students, with Ms. Lidsky, on the streets of New York.

Lakeland Regional High School’s UPAL Business program took to the city that never sleeps. The group of 12 freshmen spent Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at the Federal Reserve in New York City to learn about how it plays its part in America’s banking system. 

The adviser of the trip, business teacher Ms. Audrey Lidsky, told The Ledger that the purpose of the day was to become familiar with the regulations and rules within the Federal Reserve. The group was able to observe the building and all of its features, including a vault filled with gold.

By Beyond My Ken (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Students toured the Federal Reserve Bank, pictured here from William Street.

“It was really interesting to see the gold and learn about how heavy they were and what their values were and learn about what different things mean on the American dollar bills,” says freshman Colette Hunter. 

The students were given plenty of interesting facts about the Federal Reserve, including that “the vault is able to support this weight because it rests on the bedrock of Manhattan Island, 80 feet below street level and 50 feet below sea level,” Ms. Lidsky told The Ledger.

The group also visited the 9/11 Memorial to learn about and pay tribute to an important day in American history. 

Ms. Lisdky thinks the students gained a lot of knowledge on their trip, and she hopes that the students will be looking forward to other trips that the program is trying to organize for the future.

LRHS’s business program is one of the new tracks of the “University Program at Lakeland” or UPAL Program that eighth grade students can apply to when scheduling with their counselors in the month of February.