Winningham designs new Kwik Trip Donut Topping Dispenser
Kaitlyn Winningham, Senior DECA member and Business student, from Merrill High School (MHS) is one of three winners of a statewide Business World and Kwik Trip Competition.
Wisconsin Business World – a program of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) Foundation – in partnership with Kwik Trip announced the winners of the statewide student competition. Two separate competitions were introduced: Innovation and Production.
Virtual competitions were held across Wisconsin for students in grades 6-12. Participants competed in project-based business competitions with a focus on either innovation or production. For the Innovation competition, “Participants were tasked with developing and launching a new product that could be sold in the Kwik Trip stores,” a press release explained. Those entering the Production competition “were asked to design a t-shirt and to develop a supply chain plan to distribute the apparel.”
As a MHS Business class project, Kaitlyn developed and pitched an innovative design for a new Kwik Trip product, the Donut Topping Dispenser.
“I am so proud of Kaitlyn’s work!” said Mrs. Dachel, Kaitlyn’s business teacher. “Any time a student can engineer a real-world solution and win a scholarship is a teacher’s dream. Being able to work with Kaitlyn and watch her hone design and business skills for real world applications has been exceptionally rewarding during this difficult year and gives us a glimpse into her future successes.”
Kaitlyn received $500 and was recognized as a winner in the Innovation Competition.
“These students demonstrated their ability to confidently approach real-world business problems,” said Wisconsin Business World Director, Michelle Grajkowski. “Congratulations to the winners for going above and beyond, and thinking outside the box. We can’t wait to see how these students will grow in the future to lead Wisconsin in business innovation!”