Cambridge senior prepares for future in international marketing

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Daily Jeffersonian will highlight a senior from the three area public high schools. They were nominated for a Senior Spotlight by their school administration.

Adam Smith, 18, has spent his time as a student at Cambridge High School preparing for a future in international marketing, as a four-year member of the Ohio Model United Nations. 

The Ohio Model United Nation class is held one semester each year, in which students form a mock United Nations and create and debate resolutions for the country they are assigned to represent. 

Adam has served as a representative for Cambodia, Guiana, and most recently, Liberia. 

As a representative for Liberia,  Adam had to find the countries country's strengths and problems, then create a scenario and solution to present when the mock United Nations assembled at a state level. 

Adam realizing that Liberia is a country strong in gold exports but plagued with AIDS and STDs, created the solution of using the country's gold assets as a cure for the diseases. 

"It's a really good experience for leadership and talking and communications," Adam said of the program. "If you are afraid of communication, public speaking or problem solving, that's a good way to get better at it."

Adam sees his involvement with the program as a means of helping to set him up for the future by developing better problem-solving skills.

"One of the things that I learned as a marketing major going into the business world is you have to be able to talk to people," Adam said. "I want to go into sales. So, for example, if I'm selling a product and I want somebody to buy my project, how can I present it to them to make them think that they want and they need it."

In addition to academic extracurricular activities, Adam also played on Cambridge High School's basketball, baseball and golf teams. Of the three, he said golf is his favorite and serves as a stress reliever for him.

Adam serves as president of  the National Honor Society and Senior Class, and has been awarded multiple scholarships. He will be attending Ohio State University in August, where he will major in business administration with a specialization in marketing. He will also be a member of the International Affairs Scholars Program at OSU.

"The program is going to give me a wider range of connections. I'm going to learn more about a lot of different cultures in the world and the different markets, and how the actions of other countries affect other countries' economies and that type of thing," Adam said. "We look at the FBI, the CIA  and that type of stuff. We look at all the big law firms that handle the overseas stuff. It's a good way to get involved and meet other people."

Adam said while he is excited for what's to come after graduation, there are parts of high school he is going to miss, but getting up every day at 6:30 a.m. isn't one of them. 

"It's going to be different but, I feel like I have been prepared for that through what Cambridge High School has given me.

"Adam Smith is a true Bobcat at heart. He leads by example, either competing on the golf course, basketball court, baseball field, leading the student section during football, or in the classroom where he is ranked number one in his class with a perfect 4.0 GPA," said Jason Bunting, principal of Cambridge High School. "I am very excited to see him succeed in the Fisher School of Business at The Ohio State University."