As you are walking around the State High hallways you have probably explored the Roar Store, a place that not only sells items like T-shirts, snacks, and beverages but also serves as an educational opportunity for students interested in retail.
State High sophomore Henry Jacobs is a member of the Roar Store staff and commented on what it’s like being a member.
“I really enjoy the Roar Store. I just like how it helps teach you how to run a business and keep everybody accountable. Because I want to own my own business in the future,” Jacobs said.
Advisor Bridget Ciolkosz mentioned what the unique process is like of having the store mostly run by the students.
“Sometimes it is a bit stressful just because you have seven or eight students doing eight different tasks at one time. But it’s really neat from a teacher’s perspective, to be able to step back and see what students are capable of doing,” Ciolkosz said.
Ciolkosz shared how students can become a member of the Roar Store.
“They can take retail management, and it gives them a glimpse into not only running the Roar Store. But it also gives them an opportunity if they want to start their own business, the steps that they would need in order to do that. Then they could take Roar Store Entrepreneurship which are the kids working over the lunch block.” Ciolkosz said.
Jacobs encouraged anyone thinking about joining the Roar Store to sign up for it.
“I’d definitely say do it if you’re interested in going into business or anything to do with supply chain management or entrepreneurship. It teaches you how to do things in a smaller store. So then once you graduate to a bigger market you are able to deal with challenges quicker than many other people,” Jacobs said.
In the class, the students are able to design products to sell at the store. Ciolkosz described this unique process.
“The students get full flexibility on what they want to do. An example of one of the ideas that they did last year was the Oreo Earth Day cups. So what they did with that is they priced it out to figure how much it was going to cost. Then decide what to sell it at, and if it’s something they think students would actually buy. Then after that created all the marketing elements. Afterwards, they analyze how it did,” Ciolkosz said.
Sometimes the Roar Store has limited-time products, and advisor Bridget Ciolkosz described an upcoming product.
“As we get closer to graduation season for seniors, we make graduation banners so they can have them custom-made with their name and picture. They were very popular last year,” Ciolkosz said.
Jacobs commented on some beneficial and educational positives about being a member of the store.
“It’s very hands-on. It’s not a homework-based class, just a personal responsibility. If you are not there you have to email the teacher, because in business, if you’re late for a meeting, hey are not going to really accept you. It just gives you life lessons that are very important for the future.” Jacobs said.
The Roar store is a very unique place at State High. From the interesting and useful items to sell, what the process is like to make these products, and what the students do to become a member of the Roar Store, there is something in the Roar Store for everyone at State High.
