Milton Hershey School’s Future Entrepreneurs Pitch Sweet Ideas to The Hershey Company

Milton Hershey School Senior Division Hershey Honors Business students took a turn in the corporate hot seat when they pitched ideas for potential new products and partnerships to The Hershey Company executives. The presentations on Thursday, Jan. 9 capped off months of hard work and lessons from subject matter experts.

The Hershey Honors Business class introduces students to the corporate world and allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the roles and type of work they plan to pursue. Twice weekly, The Hershey Company executives visit the class, speak about different career options, and aid the students in the development of their pitch.

Junior Deneia Howard and seniors Jesse Maccelus and Jakai Lane-Ingram pitched a social media campaign in which the public could submit recommendations for new KitKat flavors. The person who submitted the winning flavor would have an all expenses paid trip to Hershey with their family. This idea was developed through many hours of research and collaboration, Deneia said.  

“We had to reach out to many executives to see their take on our pitch and figure out ways to improve it so we could present it as a cohesive idea” said Deneia.  

MHS and The Hershey Company were both founded by Milton S. Hershey. Hershey entity partners take pride in forming meaningful connections with MHS students. In addition to the Hershey Honors Business Class, Hershey employees connect with students through internships, job opportunities, and mentorships.

Morris Marshall and Danielle Wheager, MHS seniors, suggested partnering with The LEGO Group to create Hershey themed LEGO builds. From a model of Hershey’s iconic Chocolate Avenue to Hershey’s candy character keychains, Morris sees this affiliation as one that would increase profit and notoriety of both companies. Morris said the project helped him obtain numerous skills that he expects will propel him through his future career.

“I learned to work in different environments, with different crowds, and still present professionally,” said Morris. “Researching the company that we were collaborating with and comparing their standards to Hershey Company gave me a lot of experience in adapting to different business processes.”

Pedro Rodriguez ’18 was in the Business/Financial Management & Accounting pathway during his time in Senior Division. Through the numerous internships, work experiences, and professional skills MHS offered him, Pedro graduated from Penn State University and is now employed at The Hershey Company. This year, he coordinated many of the speakers’ visits and student tours of The Hershey Company.  

“To be able to come back and interact with students to give them professional guidance is something very special to me,” said Pedro.

Lessons the students learned through the Hershey Honors Business class, such as comprehension of business proficiency and interpersonal skills, will benefit them as they prepare for their future endeavors.