North Royalton High School students from Kriste Smith's entrepreneurship class are proving that sweet success comes from hard work, creativity, and community engagement. After representing their Royal Rooftop Honey business at the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) Student Achievement Fair in November, the student entrepreneurs shared their remarkable journey at the District's December board meeting.
The student-led venture, which produces honey from hives located on the high school's roof, embodies more than just a business opportunity. With a mission to provide locally sourced honey while supporting sustainable beekeeping practices, these young entrepreneurs are learning valuable lessons in business, environmental stewardship, and community service.
Students like Sienna Bokoch, Chris Farren, Ariel Hicks, and Vedant Rakhonde each brought unique skills to the project. They confidently explained their business model, from honey production to future product lines, which include not just honey but also egg carton fire starters, and planned products like candles, hot honey, lip balm, and beeswax wraps.
"I learned about communication and putting myself out there," said Ariel Hicks, who discussed the business's origins, including their Veale Foundation grant and Youth Bee Works partnership. Her classmate Vedant Rakhonde added that the experience helped him understand "how to keep people engaged in a way that brings them value." Chris Farren enjoyed communicating with people at the fair and seeing the unique things other students were doing at their schools. Sienna Bokoch said, “I explained the reason for different colors of the honey and some of the business aspects such as how we started, facts about honey and the selling process.”
The project goes beyond mere product sales. Their vision statement emphasizes hands-on learning, environmental sustainability, and giving back to the community. The students are already planning their next steps, including completing financial documents, launching honey stix, developing a social media campaign, and maintaining their pollinator gardens.
With plans to inspire future entrepreneurship, these students are showing that innovative, purpose-driven businesses can start right in the high school classroom. As they prepare to bring more student-run businesses to the marketplace, Royal Rooftop Honey serves as a sweet example of educational entrepreneurship.
