[Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the December 2025 edition of Shaw Media’s “Lake Lifestyle” magazine, which covers Lake Carroll in Carroll County.]

STERLING – Some people have to work at a job for years to reach the top rung on the corporate ladder, as a CEO.

Others can do it before they even graduate high school.

Take the teens in the CEO class at the Whiteside Area Career Center in Sterling: The 31 high-schoolers in the program this year are learning what it takes to wear a CEO hat before they even don their graduation caps.

Brecken Hayden of Lake Carroll and Wyatt Carroll of Lanark are Eastland High School students in WACC’s Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities class, getting an in-depth look at how local businesses operate and learning what it takes to become successful in business, communication and professional life.

The class visits area businesses on some days, hears from guest speakers — often local business leaders — on other days, and also engages in learning exercises with instructor LeAndra Hartman. Starting with the second quarter of the year, students are paired with a local business mentor who helps them understand the business world.

Students apply for the CEO class and are approved by a selection committee that reviews applications without knowing their names and schools. Students are selected at the end of the prior school year and begin the program in August.

For Brecken, being in the class was an opportunity to explore various businesses and narrow down what he wants to do after graduating from high school. His brother Maddux was in the class during the 2022-23 school year, so Brecken was able to see firsthand how the program can help, not only professionally but personally, and was inspired by his brother’s business journey.

“My brother … wasn’t very outgoing before he took it and I liked all of the stuff that he got out of it, such as social skills,” Brecken said. “It’s cool to explore different businesses to get the insight of everything. It would be nice to have a background in business.”

When Brecken’s brother went through the class, he partnered with fellow CEO student Donovan Kuhlemier to operate Re Nue, which made handmade, affordable eco-friendly jewelry.

That experience left an impression on Brecken, showing him how much could be accomplished with creativity and drive. Now, he’s following a similar path, eager to see where his own ideas might lead as the class turns inspiration into action.

“It was cool to see how Maddux started from nothing and made money just from this class,” Brecken said. “With the benefits you get out of it, there’s increased communication skills. Most of our speakers will tell us that at the end of the year when you graduate and are then looking for a job, they know your name because you’re in this class and you’re putting yourself out there.”

One thing Brecken learned from his brother was to take his mentor’s advice seriously and not be afraid to ask questions. “He told me that I should work with my mentor and get comfortable with asking for help because it would make it a lot easier,” he said.

As for Wyatt, he was intrigued seeing how the seeds of success grow, learning how to build a business from the ground up.

“I thought CEO was a great opportunity to learn new things about the business world because I want to consider that as a career,” he said. “I felt that it’s a really good opportunity for me to get more ideas about how the business world runs, and how people can start from nothing and come up with something and love what they do.”

In addition to getting a hands-on education from business professionals, students also create their own small businesses and raise seed money to start them. The business plans start around the beginning of the year and the student businesses make their public debut during a trade show in April at Northland Mall in Sterling.

“I’m looking forward to making my business and reaping what I sow,” Wyatt said. “When you make money from the things you make with your business, I feel like you’re going to be successful.”

Brecken and Wyatt are two of 18 Eastland students who have been in the class. Recent Lake Carroll students also have included Adam Awender, who was in the class last year; and Maliah Grenoble and Jason Prowant, who were students two years ago.

The Whiteside Area Career Center is a cooperative high school consisting of juniors and seniors from 15 area high schools who receive education in specific career fields. The CEO program began in 2013 with support from local businesses and community leaders to create experiential learning opportunities for students who want to become entrepreneurs. Funding for CEO comes from local businesses and private individuals.

Hartman, a retired high school teacher at Eastland, has been teaching in the program since it began. Nearly 250 students have been part of the class, and some have even seen their CEO business last into their adulthood.

“As facilitators, our job is to organize business visits and bring speakers to the class on a wide range of topics, from business-related, leadership and self growth,” Hartman said. “Students love to hear the stories or how business folks got to where they are today. Instead of a textbook, this class is built on hearing and seeing business knowledge firsthand. Many students sign up to improve their own personal growth, such as public speaking, handshakes, conversation skills, time management. All of this is learned by interacting with highly effective business leaders.”

In just the first quarter of the year, both Brecken and Wyatt said they’ve already noticed how much they’ve grown. What began as a class about business has unfolded into an exercise of self-assurance and purpose, the kind that happens when students are pushed just far enough beyond what’s familiar.

“I feel like I’ve learned more about how to better communicate with people,” Wyatt said. “Before that, I would get lazy and use a lot of filler words, like ‘uh,’ and I feel like I’ve gotten better at that. It’s important if I want to become something in the business world because I feel like I can be taken more seriously when I’m talking.”

For Brecken, the lessons have been just as personal. The class has become a kind of testing ground for ideas. Hesitation slowly gives way to confidence, and speaking up has started to feel less like a risk and more like a responsibility.

“I’ve learned to throw my ideas out there,” he said. “I feel that when I first started, I wasn’t real comfortable, and scared of opinions. I’ve learned that ... there’s no shame in throwing something out there, even if it’s ridiculous. It may be a good idea and people might agree with it. You got to get out of your comfort zone to do that.”

That comfort zone has become even bigger, thanks to his classmates. Each student in the CEO program comes from a different school and hometown, and in those differences, Brecken and Wyatt have found new perspectives.

“It’s been eye-opening because in our small, tight-knit community, everyone’s kind of the same type of people; we think the same, especially among all of our friends because we grew up together,” Wyatt said. But being in class with students from other communities, “you get to hear all different kinds of opinions because of the different backgrounds of everyone, and how they bring it to the class.”

As the year goes on, both students said they hope others will take advantage of the opportunity that’s shaped them so much already. Already, they’ve seen how the class can change the way they look at themselves, and what they believe they’re capable of.

“If you do the class, nothing bad’s going to come out of it and you’re going to do positive things,” Brecken said. “It gets your name out there, and the benefits and experiences make it all cool.”