The Entrepreneurship 30 class company at the Weyburn Comprehensive School, Bust ‘N Beads, wrapped up their semester’s operations with the final board meeting on Wednesday, and had a strong showing in spite of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Headed up by co-presidents Jaylynn Haupstein and Abby Pohl, the student-run Junior Achievement company made and sold bracelets and keychains, made of silicon beads, as well as wooden-beaded bracelets and pendants made with silicon molds.
The students determined that 10 per cent of their final profits would be donated to the five elementary schools in Weyburn. They donated a total of $696.19, which was divided up and given to Haig, Souris, Queen Elizabeth, Assiniboia Park and St. Michael Schools, with the funds to be used for purchasing food for children who may not be able to afford their food all of the time.
In the company’s final report, they explained they wanted to donate the funds to the schools “because the majority of our company members attended these schools growing up and we wanted to give back to the schools that shaped us into who we are today.”
They also wanted to effect a change in the community, and hoped that providing for food for students “will help them receive a good education and stay focused in class so they can learn better.”
The pandemic did have an impact on the class, as not long after the company started operations, the Weyburn Comp went into Level 3 and the class was divided into two groups.
“This made production and communication quite difficult, although we were able to persevere and become successful. We had to always make the most of our class time and work to ensure production was getting done as quickly as possible, as our classes were spread out by a week or more sometimes,” said the company’s final report.
COVID also presented a challenge for marketing of their products, as the students were not able to attend any trade shows or any other events in the community, so they had to focus their efforts on online sales and involvement on social media.
They were able to make an appearance on the Access community channel, so this also assisted in getting the word out about their products.
Asked what she learned in the process of helping to head up the student company, co-president Jaylynn Haupstein shared her thoughts.
“The experience with the JA Program has helped me improve a lot of my skills, learn more and become a better leader. I have learned so much with this program that will help me in my future career. The biggest lesson I have learned is that you can do anything you want if you put in the hard work and dedication. Our company did have some challenges with running a business in a pandemic, however we were always willing to do whatever needed to be done to help the company succeed. We also always came to class with a positive attitude and ready to face any challenges that were thrown at us, and because of that I think our company became stronger together and that is what has helped us succeed,” she said.
With the split forced by COVID restrictions, Group A attended in person at WCS and Group B attended virtually via TEAMS. Mentors Verna O'Neill, GM of Community Futures Sunrise, Twila Walkeden, manager of Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, and Jeff Chessall, owner of Rona/New Age, also were online providing feedback, sharing their expertise and time with the students.
Group A included Kohler Hofseth, Dalton Chicoine, Cole Hagen, and Coady Fellinger, Kade Hala, Darcy Klein, co-president Jaylynn Haupstein, Cooper Crane, Gabe Kaufmann and Eric Fleming.
Group B included co-president Abby Pohl, Kaysha Turner, Addison Klapak, Daniel Wheeler, Jadyn St. Denis, Nolan Sprecken, Krystalynn Lascelle, Braxton Rogal and Shem Regines.
