Perry County School District 32 announces the Perryville Area Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) Program, a new 3-hour block program that will launch in Fall 2024 at Perryville High School in partnership with Perryville Area Career & Technology Center.
In its first year, the CEO Program will accept up to 25 local high school students from Perryville, Saxony Lutheran and St. Vincent High Schools who will spend class time in local businesses learning from the people who drive the progress and success of Perry County. Through the CEO Program, our students will be immersed in the community where they will develop essential employability skills. They will identify a product or service that is needed here, create a business plan, and launch their own business.
“This is an exciting opportunity for students and for our local business community,” said program facilitator Amy Camarillo, who has taught business courses at District 32 for 21 years. “Students can have no better education than being in the workplace, where they are exposed to varied opportunities and develop strong employability skills. Local businesses gain the opportunity to develop the workforce of the future. The ultimate goal of the CEO Program is to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to invest in their hometown. All across the nation, the CEO Program is serving as a business incubator for communities like ours. Students are identifying needed services and products and creating businesses to address those needs.”
Perryville will be just the second school in Missouri to host the CEO Program which has had over 4,700 graduates from more than 70 programs in 10 states.
“I have wanted to partner with businesses for years,” Camarillo said. “It benefits everyone. When I was in high school, I participated in the Supervised Business Experience at Union Planters Bank. I then worked at the bank throughout college. This type of workforce-school partnership exposes students to so many opportunities to stay in Perryville to work, and businesses gain employees or foster a desire for young people to return here after college to work or start businesses.”
The Perryville Area CEO Program Advisory Board brings together local leaders from many industries and organizations. Jared Cochran of Speed Fabrication and Carisa Stark of Mary Jane Burgers and Brews are the co-chairs, and members are EDA Executive Director Crystal Jones, Dave Monier of Robinson Construction Company, Ed Flores of The Bank of Missouri, Dennis Bohnert of First State Community Bank, Amy Kiehne of Saxony Lutheran High School, Melanie Dodd of St. Vincent High School, and Craig Hayden of District 32.
