Area businesses working toward CEO program

After about a year of planning and conversation, area business leaders began publicizing a proposed plan to implement Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) programs for Waseca area high school students during meetings held on March 31.

 

CEO, it was explained, takes students into the community to meet with and learn from local business owners and leaders, make use of entrepreneurial skills, and, when ready, start and operate a real-life business, including participating in a “trade show” at the end of the school year. Optimal class size for CEO is about 20 students, all of whom must apply and be selected in order to take part.

 

Program guidance and support would come from Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship, an organization based in Effingham, Illinois, which has been in existence since 2008. Speaking for Midland during the midday and evening sessions on March 31 was Kristine Noble, a 1985 graduate of Waseca High School who went on to hold numerous community leadership roles, including being the executive director for the Sauk Valley, Illinois, chamber of commerce from 2014 to 2024.

 

Financial support for the program would come from area businesses and organizations. Costs include a one-time $45,000 “chapter fee” paid to Midland for its curriculum and startup guidance. It was stated during the mid-day session that $20,000 of the curriculum fee has already been raised.

 

Offering testimonials during the meetings were Austin Language Arts teacher Emily Hovland, who helps coordinate a CEO program for the district, and twelfth-grader Allie Musik, a CEO participant and student board member in Austin.

 

Hovland described the CEO program as “by far the best thing I have seen happen in my journey as an educator,” going on to say that participants acquire real-life skills while also building a network of connections within the community. She told of one student who began a lawn care business as part of CEO, then went on to partner with an area businessman, eventually earning more than $50,000.

 

Hovland, whose own child was a CEO participant, commented on how much more engaged her son became thanks to the program. “He was actually telling us about his experiences, and describing some of the things he was learning,” she observed. “My son is an introvert, and that was a big change.

 

“As a parent, there’s nothing like seeing your kid grow.”

 

Musik said she had learned a great deal through CEO, having started a business named “Love Your Pup,” for which she designed and sewed clothing for pets. “I really loved doing it,” she said of her entrepreneurial venture, “and I gained a lot of skills.” One of them, she went on to say, was feeling confident enough to stand up in front of a room full of business leaders and share her impressions.

 

Local leaders speaking in support of the CEO initiative included Amy Potter, executive director of the Waseca Area Foundation, and Kris Markeson, City of Waseca public safety director. Steering committee members for the local initiative include Potter, Markeson, and Shannon James Kuball of James Brothers Construction; Kara Deml, Sacred Heart School; Crystal Cariveau, Crystal C Photography; Briana Worke, Keen Bank; Brooke McGuire, Waseca Schools; and Dr. Jason Miller, Waseca Schools.

 

Along with significant learning opportunities for young entrepreneurs, Noble said during her presentation, the CEO program benefits communities by helping young people see the many opportunities available in their home towns. Noble mentioned that surveys of students in middle school show that young people frequently picture themselves building their futures “somewhere else” than where they grew up. Graduates of the CEO curriculum, on the other hand, indicate a stronger inclination to return to their communities after attending post-secondary institutions.

 

To date, Noble said, Midland is guiding 75 CEO programs, most of which are in rural areas in the midwest and are shared collaboratively among two or more school districts.

Next steps toward implementing a Waseca Area CEO program, Noble said, include continued communication with businesses, schools, and community members. 

 

A local board needs to be formed and schools need time to incorporate the program into their schedules, since high school students register in the spring for the next year’s classes. Business operators also need time to study the CEO curriculum and determine what roles they would like to play in the educational elements. A set of bylaws must be drafted, and an advisor must be selected and hired. A system for receiving and assessing student applications also needs to be in place.

 

In order to leave time for all these steps, Noble said, expected “launch” of the curriculum would be at the start of the 2027-28 school year.