Success comes from learning by doing, and that’s just what is happening in Margot Arnold’s Entrepreneurship 30 class at Weyburn Comprehensive School.

Two students and one team from her class recently won awards through the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.

This year, they were not handed out during the Business Hall of Fame Awards Banquet. Instead, they were sent individually to the schools.

“Normally they have an evening that recognizes these students,” said Arnold. “So we just found out this week the individual and the team winners.”

Individual awards were presented to two WCS students, with two placing as finalists. Grade 11 student Kelissa McLean was the winner of the Human Resources Excellence award, and Grade 12 student Morgann Rogal was the winner for Salesperson of the Year award. Grade 11 student Colby Kaufmann was a finalist for Information Technology Excellence award, and Grade 12 Student Sasha Bendasyuk was a finalist for the Financial Management Excellence award.

The Product Design team award went to the company Forevergreen, a JA business formed by Olivia Skjerdal, Breane McCormick, Keyanna Swanson, Denae Neufeld, Oksana van Staveren, Jillian Harder, Katelyn Franklin, and Olivia Barber.

For Arnold, this was no surprise, as she usually does have at least winners or finalists from her class.

“Since 2014, I’ve had 14 companies, I believe, go through,” she explained. “And every single one of them have either won or had finalists.”

This year, however, was the first year that the north and south areas of the province were combined for these awards, so these students have not only won for the south area of the province, but they beat out other junior achievers province-wide.

“Now, it being provincial, winning two out of the ten and finalists out of the ten and one of the four company, is just really thrilling,” said Arnold.

A total of 33 communities across Saskatchewan participated in Junior Achievement, with 656 students competing this year for those 10 individuals and four company awards.

To qualify, a youth must take Junior Achievement training.

“Through my Entrepreneurship 30, I provide the Junior Achievement program, and then anybody in the class can apply. There are 10 individual awards and four team awards. So, from their company positions that they held, they can apply for any of those.”

They have to answer six questions and videotape themselves answering those questions for the individual awards.

Arnold said it’s not just a typical school-style learning experience. It’s hands-on and, just like in real life business, mistakes are a part of the process.

“They really love it because it’s just a different class. You’re doing. You’re not just sitting in a desk,” she explained. “They are learning firsthand. They’re making mistakes in a safe environment, and that has happened. As long as you learn from it.”

Each student business begins with a written business plan, and at the end, the students reflect with their shareholders about all that they have learned.

At the end of the semester, they dissolve their businesses and they liquidate any assets,” she said. “They close out their bank account and they distribute their return on investments.”

“They have to liquidate any assets or donate them, and that’s what they’re doing right now. One company is scrambling to finish delivering their orders, so time management is a good lesson here,” she said.

“Tomorrow they will all have an official board meeting, with business dress, and the president runs through a formal meeting with motions to give their shareholders reports, and then they adjourn the meeting and dissolve the company,” she added.

“I’m really proud of all three,” said Arnold.

Forever Green will be donating $500 to The Family Place, Coast to Coast has already donated $500 to Tim Horton’s Children’s Camp on Camp Day, and Balanced Jewellery raised $385 for the Canadian Mental Health Association.