The Power of One Hershey

By Mya Hersh, MHS Class of 2026

Milton S. Hershey didn’t just create a school, a town, an amusement park, and a chocolate company, he created a community.

This is the One Hershey Vision. I am the legacy of Mr. Hershey’s Vision.

I was born in a small town surrounded by small towns: Newport, Pa. I grew up in a complicated situation, bouncing from one house to another. My town and my circumstances didn’t celebrate dreams; if you were born in my town, you stayed in my town. But I didn’t believe that was my story.

My cousin, Mace Blaire, graduated from MHS in 2023; he was a sign that there were options for me beyond my town, even though MHS was used as a threat: “If you don’t behave, we’re sending you to THAT Hershey school!”

Thankfully, I didn’t believe MHS was a real threat. After researching on my own, I realized that MHS was a school for kids with dreams. It was the school for me. Despite my parents’ concerns and resistance, I nearly forced my mom to sign the paperwork. I enrolled August 1, 2021.

When I arrived at MHS as an eighth grader, the Sacred Values—Integrity, Mutual Respect, Commitment to Mission, and Positive Spirit—were ingrained in me before I even knew what they were.

I remember my first lesson in Integrity. I left my water bottle in the living room, and I was not going to come forward because I was the new girl. That was a tough introduction to group discipline; no more water in the living room for anyone. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I learned that my actions impact more than just me.

My lessons at MHS came in Home Life and in the classroom. My freshman year of high school, I got my first real taste of Career-Focused Education in the form of a rotation: health science, automotive, engineering, computer science, welding, drones, but it was graphic design that stuck. Although I never called myself an artist, graphic design tapped into my creativity in ways I never thought possible.

Through Mrs. Harmon’s guidance, I earned my Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop certifications, which I applied to work outside the classroom. I was the graphic coordinator for the Student Government Association, so I designed our Mini Thon t-shirt last year. It was powerful to see my work on my peers and staff, but it was even more exciting to see my work on Hershey Bears players in their autism awareness game. I partnered with Hershey Entertainment & Resorts and MHS Art Media to make that design happen. I used my skills to create posters and brand mock-ups, but I’ve also grown in my confidence with traditional mediums like oil pastels and charcoal.

These experiences at MHS, in collaboration with HE&R, and in my student home—these applications of Mr. Hershey’s One Hershey vision—prepared me for my internship at The Hershey Company as a Category Management Intern. There, I worked with my mentors to develop relationships with Schnuck’s, Dollar General, Walmart, Circle K, and other grocery outlets to explore product placement for sales. Even though I am a graphic designer, I’ve learned there is a psychological component to sales, so while I can design packaging and advertisements, the placement of those designs in stores is crucial. In addition to preparing meetings with retailers and networking, I learned about Placer AI and Sercona, which show the data behind sales.

Through this internship, I was challenged to lean into our Sacred Values to advance our shared goals. My character, my classroom skillset, and Milton Hershey’s entrepreneurial spirit were put into action with The Hershey Company.

These internship experiences give students real world opportunities to practice communication skills.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to share my story with about 250 Hershey Company executives. I never would have believed that I would be talking to leaders of a Fortune 300 company–and I’m not sure people from my town would have expected it either. I was extremely shy. But I did it.

Internships from The Hershey Company give MHS students confidence and provide creative problem-solving opportunities; they show us that what we learn in the classroom can be applied beyond the walls of those classrooms; these internships validate the reading, writing, and thinking our teachers promise us is important.

Perhaps most importantly, I lived Mr. Hershey’s Vision and saw and experienced the value of a community working for and with each other. For that, I am forever grateful.