From Oct.1 to Nov. 12, the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) hosted a Waterway Carwash fundraiser by selling coupons. Members of FBLA participated in the fundraiser to practice their sales skills...
For most high school students, starting their own business remains a hope for the distant future. For junior Justin Lutz, however, entrepreneurship is a part of his immediate reality. From online start-up...
What school did you go to?
I grew up in Parkway school district. I went to Green Trails [Elementary for] elementary school, [and] then I went to Parkway Central Middle School and Parkway Central High...
What school did you go to?
I went to a school outside of Richmond, Va. [called] Scott Dinwiddie High School. It was named after a general in the Civil War.
How was your childhood home life?
We...
Esta Kamau, Features/Humans of West Editor
• October 24, 2022
Business teacher Bill Mitchell and his identical twin brother became homeless at 17 years old after a turbulent home situation arose. Throughout high school, Mitchell and his brother found comfort in wrestling...
Hoping to get help from business teacher Laura Strickland during AcLab, freshman Shirah Ramaji unknowingly walked into a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club meeting. FBLA is a program that helps...
When junior Lexi Lutz and senior Claire LeDuc went shopping, they felt like they couldn’t find what they wanted. So they decided to create it themselves. LeDuc and Lutz started a clothing business through...
Dragging their feet into school in the early morning, students set their sights on one thing: a caffeinated beverage. After being closed for 18 months due to COVID-19, Blue Brew reopened Oct. 4 and plans...
Attending welding school, flying to Hawaii and teaching students, business teacher Kelly Kennedy’s career has been anything but traditional. Kennedy explored unconventional approaches to both business...
At 12:50 p.m. room 2302 changes from a classroom to a full-fledged business operation for students in Jessica Bowman’s Job Experience class.
Bowman found an innovative way to teach life skills,...
![Junior Justin Lutz arranges his collection of basketball sports cards. Lutz started his first hand at entrepreneurship with an online store on eBay, dealing and trading in the sports card market. “I was already collecting sports cards [before], so I knew a lot of these players and I understood the market. I ventured into other sports, but I really stayed with the ones that I knew the most, [like] basketball. It’s really important to focus on what you know because it's so much easier than starting completely from scratch in a market that you don't understand. Find something that you're interested in," Lutz said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Untitled-design-2.png)
![Business and personal finance teacher Evan Stern stands in front of his classroom. After facing hardships growing up, Stern learned how to deal with them with the help of role models like his dad. “We dealt with some trauma when I was in middle school, and my dad had to be responsible for all three of us while he was working full-time. I know he had to sacrifice a lot. I'm sure it was really hard for him, but looking back on it, he did a really good job . I didn't appreciate everything that he did at the time because I was so young. Now, I'm engaged and probably going to have kids of my own in the next couple of years so I [am starting] to look at things differently,” Stern said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Untitled-7-1200x900.jpg)
![Business and personal finance teacher Andy Croley stands in front of his 5th hour, Intro to Business. In high school, business was the class Croley enjoyed most. “Business class was my favorite course in high school. I didn't know that was something I wanted to teach coming out of high school, but I wanted a business degree and to own my own business. When I entered university, I thought about a [teaching] avenue. I met with my advisor and looked at different departments. I fell in love with the people in the education department, the professors and the coursework, because it tied right into what I loved about the class when I was in high school. I fell in love with it even more when I was student teaching,” Croley said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_0008-2-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Nick Menendez chose to honor Business Teacher Bill Mitchell during Teacher Appreciation night for varsity boys soccer. Players wrote letters to their teachers and gave them to them before the game. “I chose Mr. Mitchell because I enjoy his class. I believe what he's teaching will actually be useful to me later on in life. [I like] solving problems, working out how to best present an idea or a concept and then working through that and delivering on it,” Menendez said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Teacher-Appreciation-900x600.jpg)
![Posing for a picture, junior Lexi Lutz wears thrifted clothes to promote her brand, Divine Minds. Junior Thomas Anderson and Lutz ran similar businesses and collaborated to advertise each other's items. “[In Spark!] we get unstructured business time to work on our business, so Claire [LeDuc] and I went out and did a photoshoot in our clothing,” Lutz said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/image1-e1644118949174.jpg)
![Writing on a chalkboard, members of the Blue Brew staff and juniors Katie Evans and Julia Ligoure prepare for Blue Brew to reopen. Prior to reopening, the staff was trained in preparing coffee and taking payments. “My favorite thing about Blue Brew reopening is getting to work with friends and [being able to] see [and] help customers every morning,” Ligoure said. “I hope to gain some work and customer service skills [from working at Blue Brew].”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/bluebrewimage-e1634501896408-900x499.jpg)
