MANSFIELD – For 33 Mansfield Senior High School students, summer work turned into a districtwide celebration Friday night.
Through Spherion Mid Ohio and School Specialty’s Truckload of School Supplies initiative, the Tygers earned $20,000 worth of school materials for their district – a reward for students who collectively logged more than 6,000 hours at School Specialty this summer.
Now in its fourth year, the program is a collaboration that gives back to local schools across Richland and Ashland counties. Each summer, hundreds of high school students are placed at School Specialty through Spherion for summer employment.
Every student hired earns their home district an entry into a drawing for a truckload of supplies.
Past winners include Madison in 2022, Lexington in 2023 and Crestview in 2024. This year, Mansfield City Schools came out on top thanks to the record number of Mansfield students who took part.
“This initiative is the ultimate ‘thank you’ to the students and schools that make our partnership with School Specialty so successful,” said Jessica Hiser, director of marketing and advertising for Spherion Mid Ohio.
“For over a decade, Spherion has proudly hired local students for School Specialty’s annual summer peak season. In 2022, we decided to give back to the schools and the truckload of school supplies was born.”
Halftime celebration at Arlin Field
The delivery arrived Friday afternoon, just hours before Mansfield Senior’s final home football game of the season. The gift was formally presented at halftime of the Tygers’ matchup against Madison at Arlin Field.
Spherion purchased the first 100 tickets for Mansfield students, giving them free entry to the game. After the halftime announcement, the company shot T-shirts into the crowd, adding to the Senior Night excitement.
“It was really exciting for our students,” said Senior High Assistant Principal Katy Endsley. “It’s their hard work that paid off with getting all of these school supplies.
“They were all so proud – the ones who worked at School Specialty came up to me and said, ‘Aren’t you proud of me? I worked hard for this.’”
Endsley added that the gift provided a morale boost.
“It’s bringing a positive climate at the end of this first quarter to get us hyped up for the rest of the semester.”
A partnership that builds opportunity
Eve Brady, senior HR business partner and head of corporate recruitment at School Specialty, said the company values its long-standing partnership with Spherion and the chance to help local teens get real-world experience.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have just an extremely strong partnership with the Spherion Mid Ohio team,” Brady said. “It allows us to be integrated as one solid team, which is awesome. We’ve done a really nice job of continuing to partner – both from a staffing perspective and in giving back to the community.”
She said many high school students return summer after summer because of the experience.
“It’s a really great opportunity to get your feet wet with employment,” Brady said. “You get to work side by side with leadership who genuinely care, who support you and help you grow – and it’s also a great way to make some money.”
The starting hourly rate at School Specialty is $16 per hour.
Among the students who helped Mansfield Senior earn this year’s prize was Lakiya Newbern, a senior who worked as a filler at School Specialty over the summer. She plans to return to the job after graduation.
“The money is nice,” she said with a smile. “And the people, of course – they’re really nice.”
‘A tremendous opportunity’ for the district
Superintendent Stan Jefferson said the donation will make an impact far beyond the high school.
“We are tremendously thankful and grateful for the $20,000 in school supplies that can be used throughout our entire district,” Jefferson said.
“Our entire school district, not just Senior High, will benefit from this. So we want to say thank you to School Specialty and Spherion Mid Ohio – and thank you to our students who worked so hard over the summer. It’s a tremendous opportunity for the Mansfield City Schools.”
