Cadott grads strive to set example for youth

Two recent Cadott High School graduates want to show youth that they can follow their passions and reach for the stars. Dylan Sonnentag and Hunter Kann are taking part in an internship this spring and summer, through College Works Painting.

Vault, a business ranking and review company, ranked the internship as top in the nation for career development.

Sonnentag and Kann serve as branch managers for the Eau Claire region, during their time with the company.

Sonnentag first heard about the opportunity during class at UW-La Crosse, when a speaker handed out cards with information on the internship.

“I wasn’t going to fill it out, just because we got a lot of those,” said Sonnentag.

However, Sonnentag did decide to hand in the card and heard back from the woman, who is now his manager, a week later. She told him about the paid internship, where interns run a painting business. The business offers services including painting interiors and exteriors, decks and fences.

Sonnentag not only applied, but passed word of the opportunity to others he thought would be interested. Kann heard about the internship from Sonnentag and also decided to apply.

“Essentially, what they (College Works) do, is they look for hard-working men, women and college students who are ridiculously motivated,” said Kann, adding the program looks for people who want to learn beyond the classroom.

The high standards make the application process competitive, where less than five percent of students who apply are hired. Selection is based on the student’s work experience, academic performance, overall level of maturity and ambition.

Kann says they each went through four interviews in order to make sure they were a good fit for the program.

Students who are accepted into the program learn and practice communication, customer service and marketing skills, firsthand.

“Honestly, the skills I’ve already acquired from this are pretty phenomenal,” said Kann.

Kann says the door-to-door marketing boosted his confidence. He says he was nervous the first few visits to clients’ houses, but says the process got easier as he worked to improve his skills and step out of his comfort zone.

Sonnentag says a typical weekday consists of looking over a map to decide areas to focus on and calling those in the target area. Weekends are filled with trips to do estimates for people who are interested in the services.

“The average estimate takes about 90 minutes and we do about four a day, so you can see how it is pretty busy,” said Kann.

The jobs they book in the spring are completed over the summer months.

Kann noted they have faced the same challenges other businesses have during the COVID-19 pandemic, but says the challenge has forced creativity. He says his studies in digital marketing have come in handy recently, as social media advertisements and virtual estimates replace door-to-door marketing, for the time being. “It’s kind of all about being innovative, keeping up with whatever life throws at you,” said Kann.

The two also manage their own employees over the summer months. Kann says he is preparing employment advertisements seeking painters, and Kann and Sonnentag will do their own hiring process.

Kann says they hope to set an example for students, to show them they can run a business and follow their passions.

“There are a ton of different opportunities at the post-secondary level,” agreed Sonnentag.

Kann says running a business and fol- lowing a passion require a lot of hard work. However, putting in the hard work means kids can truly do whatever they want to do.

“You can be young and ambitious,” said Kann. “You can run a business. You can find opportunity.”