When junior Nate Malock became a co-president of the student council, his main goal was to increase school spirit at Baldwin.
That is when he came up with the idea for the Highlander Hub, a student-run store that will be opening soon at Baldwin. He saw that the concept had worked at other schools.
“I came up with the idea after hearing things from my friends at TJ who love their store,” Malock said.
He worked with the student council to make his idea a reality. Junior Gianna Harkins, who is also a co-president, has played a key role.
“We hope the store will benefit students by letting them buy school apparel whenever they need it,” Harkins said.
The Highlander Hub plans to sell school apparel, school supplies, and eventually snacks. Also, instead of buying event T-shirts outside the cafeteria, students will now go to the student store.
“I see students buying shirts almost every day. We always have some events going on, like homecoming, football games, basketball games, and theme weeks, so there will always be something driving kids into the store,” Malock said.
The Highlander Hub will be open during lunches as well as from 2 to 3 p.m., Malock said.
To see how student stores work at other schools, representatives from the student council visited Elizabeth Forward and Thomas Jefferson high schools.
“Elizabeth Forward’s definitely differed from Thomas Jefferson. Their store was much more apparel-oriented, while Thomas Jefferson had a variety of other things as well,” Harkins said.
The store will be run out of the old security office right by the south cafeteria. Renovations are currently ongoing with the space, with an opening expected later this semester.
“We are going to have the National Art Honor Society kids do murals,” Malock said.
Student council members will be trained to run the store. Highlander Hub purchases will be cashless, with the council using Square to manage the money, though clubs selling event T-shirts will still be able to collect cash, Malock said.
Assistant Principal Denise Wells said the school store will serve a need at Baldwin.
“The goal is to not necessarily make a massive profit, but to be sustainable so kids have a place to go to purchase school apparel,” Wells said.
To raise money for the store, the student council organized a mini-golf outing that generated startup money.
If the store works out, managing the school could become a business class elective, as it is at Elizabeth Forward.
