Meet Troy Kassien, chief executive of Trinity Corp. in Anaheim. He leads and supervises the executive team, tracks sales and profits, and chairs meetings, among other duties.
There’s just one thing some people may find surprising about Troy: He’s 17.
Troy is one of 305 students who run the company. Trinity Corp., launched in 2008, is a student-run organization at Servite High School, an all-male Catholic institution.
It consists of 20 department manager supervisors and a staff of students, including a chief executive officer, four vice presidents, and 300 interns who work in campus retail operations, food services, facilities support, asset protection and human resources.
Students, instead of being figureheads, actually get their hands into the work, school officials say.
“The students are directly in the ‘firing line’ of planning, supervising and executing the different operations,” said Michelle Thomas, communications manager at Servite. “Each department is mentored by an adult management team and the executive board of directors, but a great deal of latitude is allowed for the students to actually do the work at entry, mid- and executive team levels.”
Trinity Corp. is the only high school program of its kind in the country, according to Thomas.
The program also raises money to provide financial aid to Servite students, with the net income from all retail and food-service activities on campus going toward that effort. Students receiving financial aid are in turn required to work 40 hours per school year.
Trinity Corp.’s total revenue will exceed $1 million for the 2012-13 school year.
Some students say they couldn’t have attended Servite without the aid and that receiving it has made them want to return the kindness.
“I would not be attending Servite High School if it were not for the innovative and challenging work-study program through financial aid,” Kassien wrote in an email.
He’s the former vice president of operations and human resources who became chief executive this spring.
“This program has provided me with the opportunity to acknowledge Servite’s commitment to its community and to give back for all the support that it had given to me,” he said.
Students participating in Trinity Corp., in addition to gaining work experience in real-life settings, have been offered paid internships and part-time employment at major local business, such as KHS&S Construction, LeVecke Corp. and Best Western Stovall’s Inn.
Students, thanks in part to their participation in the program, have been offered admission to prestigious universities, including Notre Dame, University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Dallas.
“Trinity Corp. has given me a way of exploring future careers,” said Kassien, who plans to pursue a degree in theology with a minor in business from a university with Catholic undergraduate programs. “Few 17-year-olds can say that they held positions with major responsibilities in business and complete high school with a full resume.”
The students in the executive team also include Cory Lewis, vice president of human resources and operations; Daniel Javier, vice president of retail operations; and Kevin Nguyen, vice president of food services.
Nguyen wrote in a news release that he’s matured in his business skills since joining the program.
“Trinity Corporation has allowed me the opportunity to grow as a manager and leader,” he said, “and to gain insight into how leaders can direct multiple levels of workers in a chaotic situation to produce amazing results.”
