By the time senior year rolls around, many students find themselves bored of the traditional classroom setting -- books, assignments and exams begin to run together.
 
But at Ovid-Elsie High School, the corporate services students are breaking from the standard curriculum.
 
The corporate services class at Ovid-Elsie High School is a year-long CTE course offered to junior and seniors. The class is structured to emulate a real-world business, from daily operations to production.
 
Instructor Bonnie Ott is a vocational business education teacher, college instructor and small business owner. Ott holds a seat on the Shiawassee County Planning Commission and is the secretary, treasurer and social media content administrator of The Cycle Conservation Club of Michigan.
 
“I feel that it is extremely important to offer students hands on learning that they cannot get from a book,” said Ott. “Students learn real world skills by forming a real corporation within the class and must meet all state of Michigan standards for CTE business education,” Ott added.  
 
The class does not just teach business operations, it implements them. Students are divided into departments, including administrative, human resources, production, quality control, marketing, sales, finance and graphic design. They are assigned to positions based on their interests and expertise.
 
Once departments are finalized, students elect a board of directors, which includes a president and vice presidents of finance, marketing, human resources and production. An administrative assistant guides the process. The board of directors surveys the class and decides on a product for the corporation. 
 
“For over a decade, the class has produced quality, hand poured soy candles. Customers have come to expect them and place orders for them months in advance. This year, we had a corporate order of 300 units,” said Ott.
 
With high demand for the product, the class dives right into the project, ordering the raw materials. The human resources team steps in to determine which qualifications are needed for production positions and disperses students accordingly. 
 
At the reigns of the production team, the glass jars are wicked, soy wax is melted, color and fragrance are added and the contents are poured into jars. The quality control team then cleans and inspects each candle.
 
Duties are then handed to the creatives. The graphic design team proposes a company logo and slogan and the marketing team begins using social media and web-based sales to promote the product. Lastly, the finance department collects sales revenue, a process overseen by Ott.
 
“My role is empowering students to be successful and overseeing all aspects of the learning process,” said Ott.
 
Revenue generated after costs are deducted is donated to a charitable organization, voted on by the class. Over the years Ott estimates the class has raised a few thousand dollars. Funds have been donated to American Cancer Society, St. Vincent DePaul, Volunteers of America, the Elsie Food Bank and Project: Paint the Town.
 
In fact, selling candles is not the only charitable work the students do -- the group prides itself on community service learning projects.
 
“Every year, my business students organize a coat, hat and mitten drive for the community and a supply drive for troops deployed overseas. In addition, this year we held a Christmas caroling event in downtown Elsie,” said Ott.
 
The major initiative the class engages in is Project: Paint the Town. Ott, along with her army of students and friends have painted every vacant building in downtown Elsie in hopes of stimulating new business interest.
 
“By re-vamping the downtown area, we are hoping to generate interest. As luck would have it, a new business did open up recently, with a couple of others in the planning process,” said Ott.
 
Students are exposed to business techniques during class time and the importance of community involvement beyond the classroom walls.
 
“They are not just handing a check to an organization, they are participating in events that are changing our community for the better. I feel that to truly be successful as an individual, one must learn to give,” said Ott.
 
Among juggling the school and charitable work, the class also finds time to take fieldtrips. Ott reaches out to her network of business professionals to coordinate visits to businesses. Last year Ott’s class took a tour of Homewood Press in Toledo, Ohio. Owner, Scott Dubuc, escorted the students and showed them the ins and outs of the commercial print industry.
 
“It gave my students a different look on business and industry, from the perspective of a business owner,” said Ott.
 
At Homewood Press, students learned about graphic design, logo creation and the importance of print in the business environment -- skills directly related to their class business endeavors.
 
“As you can see, we are a busy group, but we like it that way,” said Ott.
 
The classroom skills, hard work and community involvement equip students with not only the tools needed to delve into the business industry, but an abundance of memories from their first try at the corporate world.
 
“As the years go by, they may drive past these buildings and remember the days we spent working on them. I want them to be successful in whatever their futures hold, but I also want them to have great memories from our time together as a class,” said Ott.
 
Many corporate services students move on to successful careers and some even open their own businesses.
 
“My greatest reward is seeing former students or hearing from them. They tell me the class was one of the most meaningful classes they took in high school, because it was real-world relevant,” said Ott.
 
With the class’ successes, Ovid-Elsie High School corporate services students will continue to take their experiences far beyond the textbook to make a difference, both professionally and charitably.