Washougal Co, a student-run store selling student-designed apparel products, opened in the Washougal High School commons on Friday, November 18. Students in Social Media Marketing 1 & 2 and the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club at Washougal High School learn and apply business and marketing skills by designing the products, running the store, and maintaining the store’s social media. Now through December 20, 2022, the community can purchase from the Washougal Co student store online.
“Social Media Marketing is part of the Career & Technical Education program. By running this store and its accompanying social media handles, students learn business and marketing campaign development skills,” said Nicole Simek, Career & Technical Education (CTE) Business Education teacher at Washougal High School. As an extension of the classroom, students in the FBLA club also continue their learning by assisting with inventory and ordering processes for Washougal Co. This experience helps to prepare our students for careers as community-minded business leaders in a global society.
“The Washougal Co student store is one avenue for students in Social Media Marketing to apply classroom learning in a very tangible way,” said Margaret Rice, Director of CTE for Washougal School District. “Through our CTE Programs, we strive to create every opportunity that we can for students to gain confidence and experience in real-world applications.”
Washougal Co is open for student purchases every other Friday during lunch in the commons at Washougal High School. “By working on this project, I learned about profit. I learned how to sell products and how to grab people’s attention. I also realized that some days are easier to make sales than others,” said Samantha Mcray-Smith, student in Social Media Marketing at Washougal High School.
As part of the launch of Washougal Co, the students are opening an online store for a short time, which will take orders from community members. The online store will accept orders through Tuesday, December 20. Online orders are non-refundable and must be picked up at Washougal High School. Pickup dates will likely be in early January and will be announced once the merchandise is ready.
“Long term, we would like to have the kiosk open at sporting events,” said Simek. “We’re seeing a great deal of community support, which gets us closer to that being an option.”
