Milton Hershey School Students Learn Lessons that Stick Through Hershey Project Pathways

During the 2020-21 school year, Milton Hershey School seniors in the Career and Technical Education program’s Graphic Communication Technologies pathway were assigned to create, design, and develop stickers for various Hershey entity brands. This was part of the Hershey Project Pathways program, where students are matched with real-world projects through Hershey Entertainment & Resorts (HE&R).

“Hershey Project Pathways has been a way for us to enhance an already strong collaboration between MHS and HE&R by allowing even more students to gain authentic work experience with the ongoing mentorship and guidance from HE&R professionals,” said David Curry, MHS Director of CTE.

Milton Hershey School senior Autumn Myers finishes in first place for HE&R’s graphic design competition.

For this project, students met virtually with HE&R designers, marketing specialists, as well as a copywriter and brand developer to design their own stickers for an HE&R brand of their choosing. During these meetings, students were given creative direction and collaborated on their ideas from the brainstorm phase to the printing process.

“Students get a taste of the professional working world when working with our team. It gave them a chance to work hands-on with a project that may be in line with their career path,” said Nathaniel Hamilton, HE&R Manager of User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design. “No matter what field they go into, they will need to work well with others. It’s the team that brings out the best in a project.”

At the end of the program, the students presented their final designs to the HE&R team. All student designs were entered into a contest and HE&R representatives chose the three winners.

From left to right: MHS graduates Autumn Myers ’21, Craig Martin ’21, and Caroline Scott ’21.

“They gave me good feedback and the confidence to keep pushing on this project,” said contest winner Autumn Myers ’21. “Having my sticker win could be something that persuades an employer to hire me over someone else.” Classmates and graduates Craig Martin and Caroline Scott created the second and third place designs.

While it is unknown if the final sticker designs will be sold in retail stores, the project was a unique opportunity for students to experience a graphic design project from start to finish and learn from experts in the field.

“We are thrilled at the overwhelming success of this project and look forward to the upcoming semester,” said Chloe Place, HE&R Marketing Specialist for Resorts and Destination.

Learn More About MHS Career and Technical Education (CTE) program