SIGOURNEY, IOWA -- This week’s scholar of the week, Eryn Utterback, is not only active in the classroom; she also took a school project and turned it into her own business.

During a school project last year, Eryn Utterback wrote a business plan to raise and sell quail. She enjoyed making the business plan so much, that she decided to give it a try.

“We have a charter school up on the square here in town where we get to go. We have our own cubicles and we basically have our own business up there,” Utterback said.

After setting up shop in her own cubicle, Eryn bought day-old quail to raise on her family’s land

“Quail are really easy to take care of and really easy to do. It’s just something my family and I really enjoyed doing.”

After a number of start up costs like buying 200 quail, building a shelter for them and feeding them, Eryn met her goal of breaking even this year and she hopes to begin making profits in the coming year.

“If I didn’t have this program, I don’t know if I would have actually started the business, so it really got me going on that.”

Eryn’s teacher was not surprised her student did so well with this business.

“I know if I have something I need her to do, she can do it with little direction and she can just take it and run with it. I think that’s exactly what she did with her quail business and that’s why it’s been so successful,” said Jhonna Wallerich, Eryn’s Language Arts Teacher.