GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich. – What began as a business and marketing assignment at Grosse Pointe North High School quickly grew into something bigger than product design.
On a recent Tuesday, the classroom looked less like a typical lecture space and more like a pop-up showroom.
Tables were lined with shoe concepts and collections created by student teams.
“We have kids’ shoes. We have adult shoes,” one student said while walking through the display.
Students in business educator Scott Sowers’ business and marketing class started the term with a hands-on challenge: form teams, create a company, and develop a shoe collection from concept to presentation.
“The challenge is that students needed to create a team and within that team, they would create a shoe collection,” Sowers said.
Over 18 weeks, teams researched trends, built branding, and designed multiple shoe styles around themes ranging from professional sports and superheroes to board games, holidays, and music.
As the project evolved, it shifted from a classroom simulation to a community service mission.
The students learned that the shoes their “companies” designed would ultimately be donated to Matrix Human Services, a local nonprofit organization.
“Man, we’re giving back to the community,” student Steven Santa Marina said. “We’re creating something that can happen every year, possibly. We’re giving shoes to people.”
Students emphasized the care that went into the final designs.
“We put the best of our effort into this,” student Sebastian Nouzeilles said. “A lot of love went into them, and we think we did a great job.”
The Grosse Pointe Foundation for Public Education provided a grant to help purchase the shoes, turning the students’ designs into real products that could be delivered directly to those who need them.
When students found out their work would benefit local children, they said motivation and buy-in surged.
Nicole Pilgrim, Chief Operating Officer at Matrix Human Services, was among the invited evaluators who reviewed the student presentations and collections.
“Man, I am so impressed with the work that I’ve seen today,” Pilgrim said.
Pilgrim noted the donation addresses a basic need that can be overlooked.
“Shoes are a basic need that we take for granted, that everybody doesn’t have,” Pilgrim said. “Sometimes we see children walking around with shoes that don’t fit, shoes with holes in them, and so this is an opportunity to give a shoe that is both designed uniquely by someone who cares deeply about our community and fits—obviously something brand new.”
Sowers said the project is about more than entrepreneurship—it’s also about instilling corporate social responsibility.
When asked what they’d say to community members who may receive the shoes, one student kept it simple: “Enjoy them, honestly. And I hope that, you know, they get that message.”
This is the second year students in Sowers’ business classes have participated in the shoe project, and each team was eager to show off its design. It’s proof, they said, that a classroom assignment can become a meaningful way to serve the community.