A class assignment to design an ugly sweater has one Farmington High School student feeling a little extra merry this holiday season.
The project not only got 16-year-old Carter O’Driscoll’s entire class a free sweater, it also earned him a cool $10,000.
“I was just extremely surprised,” the 16-year-old said about learning how much he would be paid for his design.
Each year, Farmington marketing teacher Nina Merget challenges her students to design a sweater focused on a brand of their choosing. Then, the students use the professional communication skills they learn in class to share their work with officials at their selected company.
The goal is to help students build real-world marketing, design and communication skills in a way that’s creative, relevant and fun.
Last year, as a sophomore in one of Merget’s marketing classes, O’Driscoll based his sweater around YouTube. He said he chose the video streaming giant simply because “I really didn’t see anybody picking YouTube and I wanted to be different.”
After looking at his initial design, Merget, who had worked in sales for years before becoming a teacher, gave him some constructive criticism.
“At first she said it was too good and I needed to ‘ugly it up’ for Christmas,” Carter recalled.
He added a few bits of festive flair and some bold — or some might say garish — yellow stripes to make his design suitably over-the-top. Then he sent the design along to several leaders at the company.
It wasn’t until almost a full year later that YouTube reached out to Carter and said they wanted to make his design into actual sweaters, in part to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary.
“It’s not everyday you get an ‘Ugly sweater’ email subject line at work – I was intrigued, and it was hard not to appreciate his design and effort,” said YouTube Director of Communications Gina Johnson in an email to The Detroit News. “YouTube is fundamentally about giving creators a platform to share their stories. We realized this was the perfect opportunity to recognize Carter’s creativity AND stand behind YouTube’s promise to empower and compensate creatives at every level.”
Before the garments were made, the company formally negotiated with the teen (and his family) to license his design. Their offer: $10,000.
“I thought, ‘College just got 10 grand cheaper,” Carter’s mother, Alicia O’Driscoll, said with a laugh. Carter jumped out of his chair once he heard the offer.
YouTube sent the school 100 sweaters made from Carter’s design. Merget said they arrived last week and were distributed to all the students in her marketing classes. YouTube also distributed 300 more of Carter’s sweaters to its own employees, plus some key content creators, as part of a holiday giveaway.
Carter, who maintains a 4.2 GPA while also participating in football and baseball at Farmington, credited his teacher for making the project interesting.
“She’s a great teacher,” he said. “I learned a lot from that class and it’s all things we can use in the real world.”
Carter is not the only one who appreciates Merget’s teaching style. In October, she was named the Dr. Louis R. Graziano Marketing Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Marketing Educators organization.
Merget said her ugly sweater project has led to similar success stories in the past, with Subway and Starbucks having made sweaters based on students’ designs. But she never expected anything like what Carter experienced.
“In the past, students have gotten gift cards, swag bags, kiss-off emails or absolutely nothing,” she said. “Although a response it great, it’s not so much about getting a response. It’s about students seeing themselves as professionals who belong in professional situations and thinking they’re capable.”
Carter, who resides in Farmington, said he’s planning on attending college after he graduates, though he’s undecided on a course of study. Merget said he’s sure to excel at whatever he chooses.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com