(Ellwood City, PA) Caitlin Kreitzer goes fishing up to 20 times a year for bass, catfish and trout in creeks, ponds and rivers – “anywhere,” the 17-year-old Lincoln High School senior said, “I can get my line in the water.”

What the Wampum resident said she wishes were part of her gear is a waterproof tackle box outfitted with a fish-finder and solar-powered charging stations.

“Something so useful to have,” Kreitzer said.

And so she envisioned and pitched “Tackle Tech: Charge, Catch, Conquer” as her business plan to complete Butler County Community College’s Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship program.

"The kids worked really hard and came up with some great ideas." 

- Cindie Friello, Lincoln High business and computer teacher, Riv-Ell facilitator

Kreitzer and nine other Riverside or Lincoln seniors presented business plans as their capstone projects in a yearlong Riv-Ell program whose graduates receive 16 transferrable college credits and a BC3 workplace certificate in entrepreneurship.

“I knew that after high school I was going into the business field,” said Samuel Landis, of Lincoln. “So these credits from this program are essential to my success.”

Riv-Ell students’ tuition, fees and books have been free to students as a result of private contributions to the BC3 Education Foundation.

Friends “definitely recommended” program

Joining Kreitzer and Landis in Riv-Ell’s Class of 2025 were Riverside’s Austin Haley; and Lincoln’s Shaelyn Freed, Gaetano Hunter, Holly Palmer, Sara Schwarz, Chuckie Schweinsberg, Drew Steffler and Romy Westlund.

Haley discussed “Summit-Seekers,” his business plan for an adventure park with climbing walls, an indoor rope course and a clothing and equipment store.

Haley said he enrolled in the Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship program because “I wanted to learn more about finances and business while getting a certificate.”

“I had friends in the program last year and the year before and they definitely recommended it to me,” said Schwarz, who presented her plan called “Cinderella’s Closet,” an online business that upscales used female clothing with embroidery, mesh or fabric paint and returns the garments to the customer.

Riv-Ell’s Class of 2025 brings to 49 the number of Lincoln or Riverside seniors who have earned BC3’s resume-building post-secondary credential since May 2019.

Riv-Ell is the only of BC3’s high school programming opportunities that results in a credential. The program combines academic coursework with practical experiences and prepares students to create a plan to launch or enhance a business.

Business-plan presentations require a concept, mission statement, logo, research of starting costs, identification of competition and of a target market, and identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

“You could see their entrepreneurial side directly benefited from the program in terms of processing, budgeting and figuring out how to run a business,” said John Sovich, Lincoln Senior High principal.

Public speaking, Sovich said, “is kind of a lost art. It is nice to see that as part of their capstone project they had to present their ideas back to us and talk about these creative business ideas that they came up with.”

Courses in BC3’s workplace certificate in entrepreneurship include speech, whose objectives include giving effective oral presentations to groups in a public-address format.

“The kids worked really hard and came up with some great ideas,” said Cindie Friello, a Lincoln High business and computer teacher and Riv-Ell’s facilitator. “Being able to see them get up there and present and present confidently made me very proud.”

Riv-Ell students showcased their plans May 5 to an audience in Lincoln’s library that included administrators from Riverside and Lincoln, and from BC3, such as Sherri Mack, dean of the college’s business and information technology division. 

"You could see their entrepreneurial side directly benefited from the program in terms of processing, budgeting and figuring out how to run a business." 

- John Sovich, Lincoln Senior High principal

“The students talked about money,” Mack said. “They talked about the consumer. They talked about equipment and human resources. They were able to look at the problem of starting a business and analyze, to critically think through, what was needed to solve that problem.

“Even if they don’t follow through on their idea, this will carry them very far.”

Riv-Ell students also take BC3 courses in financial literacy, introduction to entrepreneurship, marketing, business plan development and psychology and field trips to visit with and gain insight from successful Ellwood City area business leaders.

“That’s probably a key component in the program,” said Dr. Nikki Pauline, Riverside High principal. “Getting them out and hearing from people who have gone through the process is definitely more beneficial than sitting down and working through a list of curricula in a book. …  It’s important that the students experienced that.”

Students since the fall visited Posies by Patti, the Ellwood City Chamber of Commerce, Ellwood Ice, the Ellwood City Forge and Barry’s Ice Cream, all in Ellwood City; and Ascent Pickleball, Shenango Township.

Riv-Ell is a College Within the High School program at BC3. Courses in BC3’s College Within the High School program in the 2024-2025 academic year were offered at high schools or learning centers in eight western Pennsylvania counties.

Among insights Kreitzer said she gained about business from the Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship program “is being willing to adapt your plan if you face adversity. And staying focused.”

Her “Tackle Tech: Charge, Catch, Conquer” tackle box would be 23 inches wide by 16 inches deep and come in black, gray, light blue and brown. It would include a loop for pliers and mesh pockets on the back for extra storage. Her research showed the tackle box would cost $88 to manufacture. She would sell the tackle box for $120.

“The opportunities for this are the increased popularity of fishing,” Kreitzer said. “New technologies in fish-finding and portable charging can attract more tech-savvy people.”

"Getting them out and hearing from people who have gone through the process is definitely more beneficial than sitting down and working through a list of curricula in a book." 

- Dr. Nikki Pauline, Riverside High School principal