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LEETONIA -- Leetonia Middle School student Braydon Gorby has a mind for two things -- pickles and business. The eighth grader combined his knowledge of the two when he pitched a business plan for a pickle food truck recently to a panel led by Dr. Jessica Paull, Kent State University Rising Scholar Program coordinator, as part of the school's Innovative Career Exploration (ICE) Program.
"I have an idea that can maybe expand across the world one day. I grew up making pickles with my father. I am5family oriented and want my family to be involved," said Gorby. "My short-term goal is to open a pickle food truck and my hope is to expand it into a bigger business someday. Pickles make my taste buds dance."
Gorby also disclosed his secret for perfect pickles.
"The trick is in the brine," he said.
Variety also helps. Gorby plans to offer a wide selection of pickles ranging from exotic to classic flavors. They include spicy chamoy tajin, sweet cotton candy, garlic parmesan and hot sauce-inspired pickles as well as "wild style" pickles where a customer can load up their order with toppings such as sour cream, cheese or beans.
Braydon presented the panel with the anticipated start-up costs and required stock needed to establish his proposed food truck business. Aside from Paull, that panel also included Leetonia Superintendent Dennis Dunham, Career Counselor John Biastro, Columbiana County Educational Services Center Consultant John Dilling, ICE Coordinator Ryan O'Donnell, and Megan Payich, director of Youth Entrepreneurship at Youngstown Business Incubator.
Gorby has already put his plans into motion. He was granted a designated section of the school property by Duhman to plant cucumbers and already has accepted a position at McMaster Farms in Columbiana where he will work alongside his father, John Gorby. The father-and-son team hopes to purchase bulk produce from the farm.
O'Donnell offered Gorby tips to get this endeavor off the ground, encouraging Brayden to start small. He suggested a meeting with the school's food service director with the possibility of Gorby's pickles being available during school lunches and the potential of gaining valuable feedback of his product from fellow students.
According to a press release from Leetonia Schools, the ICE program was made possible through a grant from the Columbiana County Educational Service Center. The school will receive $196,400 annually for five years. ICE gives students the opportunity to explore careers. A self assessment tool called YouScience is available and will guide them to a career path best suited for them.
"YouScience is a self assessment tool for our kids to figure out what they are going to be interested in their future, it's not necessarily a test. Nothing is graded. There is no pressure," explained O'Donnell. "It's just going to give us an idea of what's going to gauge their interest so we can make this a very successful program."
Since the program began in October, the Leetonia Schools reports that 43 students have enrolled and attended field trips to Pennex Aluminum, Humtown Additive and Youngstown State University's Excellence Training Center.
"The primary goal is for students to develop and create career opportunities with hands-on experience and applied learning," Dunham said. "Our hope is to develop pathways for the students with this program."
The program runs through the end of April and summer hours are available. Local businesses interested in becoming a partner or students who want to sign up, are encouraged to contact O'Donnell at (330) 427-6594, (330) 853-9419 or rodonnell@leetonia.k12.oh.us.
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