Although West does not offer business classes, there are still opportunities to get educated on business through clubs at West. The Women in Business Club, for example, has been at West for multiple years. However, there is a new, all-inclusive club for anyone interested in business. Sophomores Isla Wien and Marella Mast founded the business club after volunteering together, realizing they shared an interest in business and wanting to organize a group of like-minded peers.
“We are gonna have a variety of activities. We are gonna learn about different careers in business, have guest speakers from local businesses talk about their business journey and also pitch contests to produce money,” Mast said.
History and personal finance teacher Ben Zenner’s school store, which is in his classroom, is a business at West that provides products for students such as school spirit clothing and a variety of snacks. Therefore, Mast and Wien decided to have Zenner as the advisor of the Business Club.
“Once I was approached and knew there was student interest, I was all about it. Entrepreneurship has always intrigued me and I would love to pass on that passion to students at West,” Zenner said.
Getting this first-hand experience is important while learning about the behind-the-scenes workings of business. Although students can learn a lot from doing individual research on business, it is crucial to observe how it works in real life and talk with others about it.
“I’m taking a business class right now, so it kind of helps me to go over the skills that I’m learning by actually doing the process instead of just reading about it,” Wien said.
This experience can help anyone interested in pursuing business in the future, potentially giving them a headstart in what they want to study later in life. However, being a member of the Business Club can be valuable no matter what someone’s plans are for the future.
“For me, it’s about showing opportunity. I want students to feel confident in themselves and know the steps they need to take to pursue their ideas and hopefully create financial independence,” Zenner said.
Zenner’s school store has been struggling to sell products due to not aligning with the wants of students. Therefore, the students in Business Club will be assisting Zenner in developing products based on trends and optimizing business in his school store.
“The club is going to work through [the] creation of new Titan gear. This includes identifying wants, production costs and calculating profit margins,” Zenner said.
