A group of Corry students who specialize in a variety of different areas are coming together as part of a year-long program to establish their own business.
The course is called “Student-run Manufacturing Enterprise,” and that’s exactly what it is. These 24 high school students, under the guidance of co-directors Valerie Toplovich and Travis Carey, are designing and prototyping products that they are preparing to manufacture and market themselves as one entity: “Beaver Precision Works.”
At the helm during this, the program’s introductory year, are seniors Charly Amburgy and Sylas Bryan, serving as co-CEOs of the company. The two were nominated by fellow students and presented to their classmates and coworkers before being elected to the position in a tie, Carey and Toplovich explained.
“The premise is to run it [the course] as any other real manufacturing facility would run,” Toplovich stated.
To that end, the students were tasked with selecting their own company name, creating a logo and coming up with a slogan and mission statement. In Bryan’s opinion, the logo has been “one of the hardest parts” so far. The design always included a beaver graphic as part of the letter “B,” but deciding on which type of font to use was a little more challenging. It started out in all bold, Bryan and Amburgy explained, but then they chose something a bit more intricate for the second deck of characters, stating they (the students) wanted to more clearly represent the precision aspect of their work.
Shown here is a student-designed logo for a newly established student-run business enterprise: Beaver Precision Works.
The logo also received a stamp of approval from the vocational instructors at Corry’s Career and Technical Center (CTC).
Next, the group settled on a company slogan: “Student driven, industry ready.” They developed a mission statement as well.
Students can qualify for this program in one of two ways. Some are business students enrolled in graphic communications or accounting classes, while others are vocational students who have reached at least level two of their respective Career and Technical Education (CTE) program — whether that be welding, machining or woodworking. There are certain performance criteria to meet, and students must also receive a teacher recommendation.
Many participants, Toplovich pointed out, have cross-over experience in multiple areas.
“We have students that are very versatile within the company,” Toplovich noted.
This is true of Bryan, who specializes in graphics and computer-aided design (CAD) as well as machining. Amburgy is a graphics student.
Alex Schmidt is the company’s CFO.
The majority of the class is made up of juniors and seniors, as well as a couple of sophomores who qualify on the business end. However, sophomores have not yet progressed far enough in their CTC programs to fully participate in that capacity, so they are rarely included in production lines, according to Toplovich.
The group is divided into different departments, including research and development, which Bryan said focuses on things like pricing and quality control, as well as design teams and production lines made up of welding, machining and woodworking students.
The students will also market and sell their products. Items currently in the design and prototyping phase are cutting boards, Christmas ornaments, stickers, magnets and a rocket stove, which is a small, portable cooking stove. Students meet for one hour each school day to work on developing their projects. Production work in the shops is overseen by the respective vocational instructors.
“I don’t think any one of us [teachers] could do this alone,” Carey admitted.
Amburgy said her favorite part so far has been seeing unique personalities come together to create something from scratch and form a group identity.
“We literally started from nothing. We are the foundation of this business right now, so seeing this come to life is just really rewarding for us,” Amburgy commented.
Bryan built off of that idea, noting that he enjoys seeing a lot of interdepartmental interaction between design and manufacturing teams.
“It’s just really interesting to see that all fit together,” Bryan said.
From the teacher perspective, Toplovich praised the students’ high level of enthusiasm, and noted that she sees social benefits in the program as well, given that the students aren’t all in the same social circles but are still learning to work together.
“It makes me excited to come to work every day,” she said.
Toplovich added that there will be guest speakers coming in to teach the students about pricing and marketing strategies, as well as field trips planned to local businesses, including Viking Plastics and Corry Manufacturing Co.
Besides designing and creating their own products, the students also have the means and the skills to produce another company’s wares. In fact, area businesses are invited to an open house on Nov. 17 to learn more about what these students can do and what a partnership might look like.
Amburgy said she can’t wait to see how the final products will turn out.
“At the end of the year, I think it’s going to be very rewarding to see how far we’ve come,” she said.
Bryan is looking forward to hearing customer feedback and finding out what consumers think of their student-made merchandise.
Each of them emphasized the importance of growth and continual improvement, both individually and as a business.
As seniors set to graduate this year, a main objective the two CEOs have is to provide a foundation for those who will take the course in the coming years. They explained that future students will choose their own products to design, create and market, but the goal is for the company’s name, logo and mission state to stay the same.
Participation in this program is meant to prepare students for entering the workforce, Toplovich said, citing an increasing demand for skilled labor. They don’t receive a paycheck, but there are scholarships available upon completion of the course, whether for additional schooling or help purchasing safety equipment or other items needed to begin working in their respective fields.
The Student-run Manufacturing Enterprise program was initially funded by a $200,000 Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career (MTTC) grant through the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). That award was announced in April.