HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 3, 2009 – High Point University juniors Jenna Maserian and Melissa Dorsch have had a smooth summer thanks to their innovative idea – they opened up their own smoothie shop on Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire.
Maserian, a human relations major, and Dorsch, a home furnishing marketing major, worked together to create “Jus’ Chillin,” a smoothie bar that also offers whole food wraps and snacks.
The idea initially came from an internship experience that Maserian completed during her senior year of high school.
“My family owns the Bay View Pavilion in Alton Bay, N.H. It currently has condos and retail spaces,” Maserian explains. “My dad had an opening for one of the retail storefronts and proposed the idea for my friends and me to design a shop to place in that unit. … For our senior internship in high school, my friend and I designed a cafe that focused on coffees and sandwiches. My dad was so impressed with what we put together for our internship that he gave us the opportunity to bring our design to real life. From the cafe idea came our idea for Jus? Chillin.”
Maserian says she and Dorsch took care of all of the details – including designing a logo, graphics, T-shirts, mascot, finding vendors, creating a budget, locating the right products and more.
“Basically, my dad wanted us to do this on our own,” Maserian says.
And they did do it on their own – and Maserian gives a lot of credit to HPU for preparing her with the skills to take on such a big project.
“Many of the skills and lessons I have learned from HPU were invaluable toward the preparation of Jus’ Chillin,” Maserian says. “The most helpful skills that HPU gave me were learned through my freshman seminar with Dr. Qubein. He made me realize that the key to success is the drive and motivation to work hard at your dreams if you want to make them a possibility.”
What’s more is the fact that Maserian and Dorsch enjoyed putting the shop together.
“It has been such a great life lesson, and I have learned so much about how a business should run – and how it should not run. We have learned what we did right and wrong.”
Maserian says the shop will remain open seasonally during the summer months only due to the nature of the product and location.
“We look forward to growing and making sure that we get everything just perfect for next year,” Maserian adds.
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people. HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students from 50 countries and 44 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report No. 5 among comprehensive universities in the South and No. 1 in its category among up-and-coming schools. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 6 percent among “America’s Best Colleges.” HPU was included in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For” 2009 listings. The university offers 68 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and seven graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at www.highpoint.edu. Chris DudleyVice President for [email protected]