Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship

Energy Exec Gives Alma Mater BC3 $100K, Creating 125 Scholarships

(Butler, PA) A 1972 graduate of Butler County Community College who founded an oil and gas exploration company has contributed $100,000 to the BC3 Education Foundation with an unprecedented request that it be disbursed in one academic year through his creation of 125 scholarships ranging in amount from $500 to $2,000. “That’s the way I wanted it to work, and I am happy with that,” said Gary Griwatz, of Cranberry Township and of Tampa, Fla. Griwatz earned an associate degree in business from BC3, where he was active with what was the Sigma Lambda Chi service fraternity that raised money…


Riv-Ell Business Plans: Traveling Ultrasound Business To Surprises For Outdoor Enthusiasts

Ten Riverside or Lincoln high school students participated in Butler County Community College’s Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship program in 2024-2025. They earned 16 transferrable college credits and BC3’s workplace certificate in entrepreneurship upon completing the program that required a capstone-project business plan. Students presented business plans May 5 in Lincoln’s library. About Riv-Ell’s Class of 2025, their business plans and extra-curricular activities: Shaelyn Freed, Lincoln. “Little Miracle Imaging,” a traveling ultrasound business with 3D and 4D technology. Clientele may include women with high-risk pregnancies or without transportation. Freed’s research showed estimated startup costs to be $81,110, which would include $31,000 for a…


Riv-Ell Students Pitch Business Plans, Earn BC3 Certificate

Caitlin Kreitzer goes fishing up to 20 times a year for bass, catfish and trout in creeks, ponds and rivers – “anywhere,” the 17-year-old Lincoln High School senior said, “I can get my line in the water.” What the Wampum resident said she wishes were part of her gear is a waterproof tackle box outfitted with a fish-finder and solar-powered charging stations. “Something so useful to have,” Kreitzer said. And so she envisioned and pitched “Tackle Tech: Charge, Catch, Conquer” as her business plan to complete Butler County Community College’s Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship program. Kreitzer and nine other Riverside or Lincoln…


Riv-Ell Presentations: Food trucks, Mobile Florists, Special-Service Funeral Homes

Eleven seniors at Lincoln High School and four at Riverside presented business plans April 25 as the capstone project in a Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship Program and in pursuit of a 16-credit Butler County Community College workplace certificate in entrepreneurship funded by donors. Riv-Ell students who pitched their ideas for ventures before more than 30 spectators in the Lincoln High School library were Lincoln’s Kaci Barnett, Madelyn Carner, Nicholas Franitti, Sidney Gibbons, Aydin Kline, Madison Long, John Lorenc, Alexis McClean, Claire Noble, Ryan Turner and Talan Young; and from Riverside’s Jax Bender, Brooke Dougherty, Brooklyn Gruber and Ciera Koller. About their business…


Record 15 Riv-Ell Students Pitch Business Plans

A record 15 high school seniors profiting from a yearlong Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship Program pitched business plans April 25 that impressed Ellwood City area leaders and in pursuit of graduating from Butler County Community College on May 15 with a 16-credit workplace certificate funded by donors. The 11 Lincoln and four Riverside seniors in 2023-2024 represent the largest group to seek the post-secondary credential in a 6-year-old program that combines academic coursework with practical experiences. Riv-Ell is a collaboration between BC3 and Ellwood City area businesses. Private contributions to the BC3 Education Foundation fund tuition, fees and books. Graduates earn a…


BC3’s College Within the High School Program Sets 3 Records

A 26-year-old Butler County Community College program that offers qualified high school sophomores through seniors the opportunity to earn reduced-cost, transferrable college credits has set records this fall in enrollment, in seats occupied and in credits pursued. BC3’s College Within the High School program this fall enrolls 523 students. The all-time high includes a record 57 students in an Early College Pioneers program on BC3’s main campus, a record 16 in a Riv-Ell Entrepreneurship program in Ellwood City and a sophomore who was 14 when his three-credit BC3 course in marketing began in August at Mars Area High School. “I…