A student-led initiative gave Minnesota North students hands-on experience in marketing, fundraising, and event planning while building school spirit.

What started as an idea to increase student engagement became a real-world learning opportunity for students on Minnesota North’s Itasca campus.

When Student Senate President Izabel proposed creating an activity to bring more students together and support athletics, students in Nick Rothstein’s marketing course were given the opportunity to make it happen. Rather than working through a hypothetical case study, they developed and promoted the October 7 “Blue Out” event at a Minnesota North Itasca volleyball game.

The initiative brought together Student Senate, Athletics, the Itasca Campus Foundation, and Rothstein’s classes to boost attendance, build school spirit, and raise funds for the Itasca Campus Food Shelf.

“I’m a big proponent of practical applications of material,” Rothstein said. “When students see how these concepts are applied to real-life situations in a meaningful way, it helps make them more concrete and helps students truly engage with the material.”

Students developed and implemented the event’s marketing campaign, creating social media content, printed advertisements, and promotional messaging tailored to different audiences. They also introduced the “Blue Out” theme, coordinated giveaways for the first 50 students to attend, and promoted free pizza and rally towel sales.

“We catered our messaging to effectively appeal to different target markets,” Rothstein said. “Students had to think through the entire promotional strategy, not just create an advertisement.”

Support from the Itasca Foundation helped provide 50 rally towels and pizza for attendees. Students in Rothstein’s Introduction to Economics course organized the sale of additional rally towels, with all proceeds benefiting the Itasca Campus Food Shelf. As part of the project, students analyzed production costs, developed pricing strategies, and gained firsthand experience with fundraising and sales.

For Izabel, the project demonstrated the value of collaboration.

“It was really a way to get students engaged,” she said. “The event was on campus, accessible, free to attend, and it supported both students and athletics. Everybody benefits.”

By combining marketing, economics, athletics, and student leadership, the Blue Out event gave students practical experience in communication, event planning, audience engagement, and teamwork while making a positive impact on campus and the community.