WE WANT YOU IN CEO!
McDonough County CEO is now accepting applications for students who are interested in participating in next year’s CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) program. Students of all skill sets and backgrounds can be successful in this class, so long as they are hard-working, trustworthy, and willing to take on an exciting challenge.
“McDonough CEO is not a business class,” says Ketra Roselieb, McDonough CEO board chair and vice president for finance and administration at Western Illinois University. “It’s a transformational learning course that offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to learn about their community, discover their entrepreneurial skills, and develop valuable interpersonal skills, unlocking their true potential.”
To apply, visit mcdonoughcountyceo.com/applynow, and submit your application by December 5.
“Applying for CEO was an opportunity that I could not pass up,” says Anna Dixon, a Trinity Academy student and Class of 2026 CEO member. “Knowing the experience of past students allowed me to understand that CEO was more than just learning the basics of business. This program would give me the chance to learn about different careers that I would have never considered before.”
CEO meets each school day morning from 7:30 to 9 a.m. in a local business. Under the guidance of their facilitator, students visit businesses and learn how community members work together to run their businesses. They also hear from a variety of guest speakers. But more than all that, CEO challenges them to become great communicators and networkers, problem solvers, and creative thinkers.
In addition to visiting each high school campus during November, McDonough CEO is hosting “Experience CEO” this year, where students who are interested in applying can come to CEO for a morning and try it out:
• Wednesday, December 3, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m.: McDonough District Hospital
• Thursday, December 3, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m.: Macomb Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Email CEO Facilitator Alison Jefferson for more information at facilitator@mcdonoughcountyceo.com.
The CEO learning environment has two culminating experiences for students: a class business and an individual business. In the past, McDonough CEO class businesses have brought a vendor fair, an escape room, a winter delivery business, and a battle of the bands contest to the area. In the spring, students’ individual businesses will be unveiled to the community through a trade show.
“We love seeing new CEO students turn into seasoned young professionals,” Roselieb says. “They leave our program with essential skills and an expansive, long-lasting network of community professionals and business owners.”
CEO is tasked with helping student entrepreneurs bring the “wow” to any setting – or in other words, to make every contact realize they are not interacting with the average teenager.
“We want everyone who comes in contact with our CEO students to say ‘Wow!’” Roselieb says. “Our student entrepreneurs learn important soft skills like shaking hands, eye contact, professional dress, having meaningful conversations and problem solving, straight out of the gate – during their first week with us.”
Students in the McDonough County CEO program can come from schools throughout the county, including Bushnell-Prairie City High School, Macomb High School, West Prairie High School and Trinity Academy.
