Harrison County Students Pitch Business Ideas at Annual Symposium

Harrison County Students Pitch Real-World Solutions at Business Symposium

Thirty high school students from Harrison County gathered at the Pierpont Community & Technical College Gaston Caperton Center in downtown Clarksburg this past Friday, stepping into the high-pressure world of venture pitching. The event, the fifth annual Harrison County Schools Business Symposium, transformed the Gaston Caperton Center into a localized version of “Shark Tank,” forcing students to bridge the gap between classroom theory and market-ready entrepreneurship.

WDTV reported that the event, which ran from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., challenged students from various schools to form five teams. Guided by volunteer business teachers and coaches from eight local firms, the students spent their morning in breakout rooms developing products and services specifically tailored for the Bridge Sports Complex.

NEW HARRISON COUNTY BUSINESS cuts ribbon to make it official and offering a service many seek, need. Info: https://t.co/vgopMKxLu6 pic.twitter.com/Kzcr46QauK

— https://x.com/connectBP/status/2099721173537829315

Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Commerce

For many participants, the symposium served as an introduction to the collaborative nature of the modern workforce. Caden Cox, a senior at Bridgeport High School, found that working with students outside his immediate social circle was the most valuable component of the day. His team focused on the “Bridge Locker,” a service concept designed to assist families who arrive at athletic events only to realize they have left essential gear behind.

“I’ve met a lot of new kids that I have not met before from other schools, so that’s pretty awesome,” Cox said, noting that the experience pushed him outside his comfort zone. His advice to peers considering the program is straightforward: “I just say do it.”

The logistics of the day required students to move from individual brainstorming sessions to collaborative team selection, where they chose the strongest concept to present to a panel of judges. Dr. Geraldine Beckett, the county’s career and technical education liaison, emphasized that this process shifts the student perspective on what a business actually is.

A business isn’t just a place where they go to work anymore. A business is something of their creativity and their ideas and what they want to do.

A Revived Tradition in Career Development

The symposium is a revived tradition. According to Dr. Beckett, the program originally launched in the early 2000s under the local chamber of commerce. After a decade of activity, the event entered a 10-to-15-year hiatus before being resurrected by local business teachers. Beckett, who took over the project after the creation of her current role, views the symposium as a critical pipeline for local talent.

The stakes for the students involved more than just the $25 Amazon gift cards awarded to each member of the winning team. The panel of judges—Will Drennan of Manpower, Jenna Bennett of Truist, and Sharon Smith of Baker Tilly—provided “grows and glows,” a feedback mechanism designed to highlight both strengths and areas for professional development. These judges, all of whom serve on the county’s business teacher CTE advisory committee, evaluated the students not merely on the quality of their pitch, but on the viability of their business logic.

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The Economic Stakes of Student Entrepreneurship

The emphasis on Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs has gained significant traction across the United States as districts attempt to align secondary education with regional labor market needs. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, students who participate in high-quality CTE programs are more likely to demonstrate gains in both academic and technical skills. By exposing students to business professionals early, the Harrison County symposium attempts to demystify the path to business ownership, moving beyond the traditional model of vocational training toward a model of creative innovation.

However, the transition from school-based competition to actual business sustainability remains a significant hurdle. While the symposium provides a foundation, the long-term success of such initiatives often depends on the strength of the local business ecosystem to provide mentorship beyond the classroom. The involvement of firms like Baker Tilly and Manpower suggests a commitment to this continuity, yet the challenge remains in scaling these experiences to reach a broader segment of the student body.

As the symposium concludes its fifth year, the focus remains on the individual growth of the participants. “We’re growing little business managers here. We’re growing business owners,” Dr. Beckett noted. Whether these students eventually pursue formal business degrees or launch their own ventures, the exercise in pitching, prototyping, and peer collaboration serves as a practical testing ground for the skills required in an evolving economy.