There is a new curriculum in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at Mineola High School. This fall, a Business, Marketing and Finance branch was commissioned. 

A long familiar face at Mineola ISD, ‘Coach’ Jason Goodson leads the program. Goodson and his students have made an excellent start.

“We have 62 students presently in our branch classes,” Goodson reported.

The branch of Business, Marketing and Finance is composed of four parts, each represented by a stand-alone class: Sports Marketing and Entertainment, Social Media Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and the Principles of Business. It is one of twelve CTE programs available at Mineola High School.

The objective of each of these programs is to build a level of expertise within participating students that will make them immediately competitive in the global marketplace.  Often, that will result in obtaining an industry-wide certification in a recognized discipline.  

For sophomore Lawson Ollive, interest in the branch was practical – he intends to pursue a business degree in college. 

Junior Kingston Straznicky is fully involved in the entrepreneurship pathway. Remarkably, Straznicky is already an owner in two ventures: a vending machine company and a trailer renovation business. 

Classmate Sesley High found that this CTE branch combined a number of her interests. 

“It was a mixture of business and sports. While I intend on training to conduct post-traumatic stress disorder counseling and treatment, I have also been a very vocal sports fan,” she said. 

Perhaps the most visible and entertaining aspect of the new CTE branch is the launch of The Nest Game Day, a live-streaming YouTube feed.  

It is indeed the intersection of business and sports. After some initial forays conducting pre-game shows before home football games, the students are now heavily involved in live-streaming home basketball games, including commentary and color. The live-streaming is done in The Nest.

There is quite a lot involved in successfully streaming a live broadcast. Goodson explained that there are video cameras and monitors to be readied and manipulated, a sound feed and mixing board to master, and operation of the Open Broadcast Software for bringing the production together.  The group uses a NearStream wireless camera and NearStream driver to regulate the video.

Then there is the actual broadcast. The Nest operates with a play-by-play announcer and a color commentator. They normally swap duties at the half.

“You really get into a groove as the game goes along,” said Straznicky about the announcing gig. “It is much like having a long conversation.”  

High agreed, and added, “I don’t really notice that what we are saying is being broadcast. It is just amazing to watch your friends competing on the court.”

Both announcers admitted that they have to be fair in their broadcast; however, they never cease being Mineola fans. They listed rivalry games (against Quitman especially) and great individual moves (such as a Zane Strange dunk) as moments when their emotions can get away from them while announcing. 

A live stream also results in significant gaps in the action, which must be filled. This is also an important part of the production, with students devising audio and video offerings to fill the time-outs and halftimes. 

Goodson hopes to expand the streaming initiative. Yellowjacket baseball and softball games present opportunities as well as their own challenges. The team is also looking at regular interviews of student leaders on campus and covering events other than athletics. 

The CTE center being created in the old elementary school will have two rooms dedicated to the branch. One will house a ‘green room’ for production, and the other will be a combined classroom and interview set. 

 “We are also hoping to receive a grant, which will allow us to purchase more production equipment,” Goodson said.

Mineola’s CTE programs are supported throughout the community. Eight local firms participate in partnership and internship programs with the school. 

It is this connection with the greater community which Goodson sees as the future of the Business, Marketing and Finance branch and The Nest Game Day. 

“We would like to see our broadcasts reach beyond the school into the public realm,” he said.

The best advertisers for the new CTE branch are, naturally, those involved in the start-up. Ollive appreciated the opportunity to learn the variety of specialized equipment. Straznicky enjoys the experience of team building and honing the production into a well-oiled machine. 

It is High, however, who may have summarized the benefits of the whole initiative best. 

When commenting on the feedback she has received, High remarked, “People at school are so thankful when we interview them, because they get a chance to tell their story.”

Telling a story – that is a pretty powerful thing.