CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) — While many high school students are learning in a classroom, some Clovis East High School students are also running a business and helping create wedding memories for local families.

Inside the floral design classroom, students carefully assembled boutonnieres for an upcoming wedding, following instructions from teacher Ariel Covey as they prepared arrangements for a paying client.

“OK, go ahead and grab your lily grass,” Covey told students.

Students Stella Bresso and Amanda Garcia are both enrolled in the school’s advanced floral design course. As advanced students, they are part of Timber Blossom Floral, a student-run business that operates through the agriculture department.

The business takes on real projects with real deadlines, including weddings, school events and district functions. Despite the added responsibility, Bresso said she enjoys the challenge.

“It’s not really stressful,” Bresso said. “It’s more like I understand what I have to do, and I know I have to get it done.”

Throughout the year, students create arrangements for graduations, campus events and a limited number of weddings. Many of the wedding clients have connections to the agriculture program, allowing students to gain professional experience while serving their community.

Covey said one of the program’s biggest strengths is that students are involved in every aspect of the business, not just arranging flowers.

“From start to finish, we try to give every student that opportunity to see what this industry really looks like,” Covey said.

Students help develop flower recipes, calculate cost estimates, manage timelines and create final products. The experience mirrors what they would encounter in a professional floral business.

“I oftentimes tell my students, you know, when you’re absent, I’m losing an hour of work,” Covey said. “So they really understand how important that is.”

Students also have the option of working beyond regular class hours, helping deliver and set up arrangements at weddings and events. Those who participate earn scholarship money for their time and effort.

For many students, the experience is more than a class project. It helps them build confidence, professional skills and potentially a career path.

Bresso hopes to one day start a floral business with her sister and said the course has helped her believe she can turn that dream into reality.

“This course has helped my confidence because at first I was really scared to go out and meet new people and start making stuff because I didn’t know if I was creative enough,” she said. “But then I learned that you just have to have an imagination, let your inner child out, just have fun and follow instructions, but also see what works the best.”

Covey says the goal is to give students hands-on career experience while helping them develop skills that translate directly into the workforce.

Community members interested in seeing more of the students’ floral creations can find examples of their work through the Timber Blossom Floral Instagram page and the Clovis East Floral Design website.

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