Winooski High School appears to be pumping out young entrepreneurs.

Three WHS students—Jasmin Halkic, Nevin Leary, and Rachel Aureli—swept a statewide entrepreneurial contest earlier this month sponsored by Vermont Rural Entrepreneurships through Action Learning, known as Vermont REAL Enterprises. Nearly 30 students entered the competition.

Aureli, who took third place, said she was pretty surprised when all three of them made it into the top three.

“I looked over at (Halkic), and all I had was dollar signs in my eyes,” she said. “I was really happy for everyone.”

Leary, a senior, came in second, netting $750 for his already-established landscaping company, L.M. Landscaping. Leary started the business in 2008 with a friend, Peter Mergens.

“I think we were all pretty surprised when it came down to the top three,” Leary said. “It was pretty gratifying to come that far. We worked so hard on our plans, to know we made it into the top three was pretty nice.”

Each student had to write a comprehensive business plan.

Halkic, a junior, took the $1,000 first prize with his plan for Homeowners Helpers, a moving storage company based out of Colorado.

“I just kind of sat down and came up with something simple,” he said.

Aureli, a senior, won $500 for her plan for a cheerleading gym, called Cheer All-stars, New England.

Teacher Courtney Poquette said the three students put in about half a year working on the projects.

“A lot of students needed a push, but all three of them did a lot on their own,” she said.

Poquette said she wasn’t surprised that the students won.

“Their plans were better than plans I wrote in college, so I knew they had done something pretty special,” she said. “I knew all three would be recognized, and they were.”

Poquette said the competition gave students real-life experience.

“This allows students to see there’s options for them besides always working for someone else,” she said. “They can take control of what they want to do and control their own money.”

Leary has already invested the money into his business, which he will continue to run when he heads to Norwich College this fall.

Halkic said the experience taught him that he doesn’t want to start his own business, saying “it seems like a lot of work.” Aureli, however, felt the opposite.

“After finishing the plan, I had this feeling that I couldn’t wait to start my own business,” she said. “It’s really cool to think that I already have a leg up on people.”

 

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