With school slowly starting to feel normal again, the SHS school store, “The Shipyard,” has finally opened back up! Managed by students in Ross Maki’s Honors DECA business classes, the store sells t-shirts, sweatpants, sweatshirts, and loads of snacks. 

This year’s Honors DECA class is made up of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Maki said he is “grateful for the great students who take ownership of running the store.” Maki focuses on teaching students social and communication skills in the class, which are reinforced through business interactions in the store. According to Maki, students also learn important business skills such as “how to handle transactions and sales while maintaining good customer service.”

DECA is an association of students interested in marketing and business. Each year, SHS DECA students and club members travel to a district conference, with some students advancing to states. Maki explained that the profits of the store go to both the restocking of the store’s supplies and to the school’s DECA program, covering expenses such as competition fees, hotel rooms, and transportation. 

SHS junior Gridska Flynn commented that “hanging out with friends and other students after school” is her favorite part of working in the store. Flynn stated that learning promotion and marketing strategies in class helped ease her into working at the store. Flynn, who works at two local restaurants, Rivershed and Salt Society, has customer service experience but not necessarily retail experience. 

SHS junior Ellie O’Connor is also a student in Maki’s Honors DECA Marketing/Shark Tank Experience Business class. As part of the class, students are required to work in the store two times per month but can work more than twice for extra credit. O’Connor said that “many students look for more opportunities to work because it’s fun to engage with students while working.”

With the store’s success since reopening, students and staff are excited for the future of “The Shipyard.”