High school Career and Technical Education (CTE) business students are getting a real-world look at how events are planned, promoted and shared with the public through a new collaboration and entrepreneurship fair.
Breakwater Federal Credit Union, the Copper Country Intermediate School District (CCISD) CTE Program, and the Michigan Small Business Development Center (Michigan SBDC) have been working to develop the fair for high school CTE Business & Entrepreneurship students, set to take place this March.
The event will focus on hands-on learning through a student business pitch competition, a business simulation designed by Breakwater, and opportunities for students to connect with local businesses and community partners.
Early in the planning process, organizers decided it would be beneficial to have students play an active role in planning and promoting the event as part of their classroom curriculum. Recently, CTE business students in Rhonda Nachtigall’s class at the Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College had the opportunity to learn about public relations from Kayleigh White, Marketing and Community Relations Coordinator at Breakwater Federal Credit Union.
During the classroom visit, students learned the intricacies of public relations and best practices for writing and delivering an effective press release. Students are currently finalizing their first press releases, which they will send to local media next week.
Media outlets are encouraged to watch for future announcements written and submitted by participating students as part of their hands-on classroom curriculum tied to the entrepreneurship fair this spring.
“Working with the students one-on-one was especially rewarding,” said Kayleigh White. “This experience gives them early exposure to professional communication skills that many people don’t develop until later in their careers.”
While this announcement serves as an early introduction to the collaboration, remaining details about the event will be shared by the students through their own press releases. Additional details will be shared in the coming weeks.