Clarkson Students Support Growth at Summit SHRED LAB

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Clarkson University students are helping local businesses grow through hands-on class projects, including a recent partnership with Summit SHRED LAB, a North Country document destruction company.

As part of a business strategy course, the student team studied Summit SHRED LAB's operations and created a plan to help the company reach more customers and improve its marketing.

"Our project focused on ways Summit could grow and reach new people," said Clarkson student Hannah Goetz. "We looked at how they could improve marketing, expand services and stay strong in a competitive market."

Students met directly with the company's owners to better understand daily operations, challenges and goals and applied skills learned in class to develop a plan.

"We talked about their customers, marketing and competition," Goetz said. "Working closely with them helped us create ideas that were realistic and useful."

The team suggested several changes, including selling secure shred bags in local stores to attract one-time customers. They also updated the company's postcard campaign to make it clearer and more modern.

The company has already seen results.

"Working with Clarkson students was an outstanding experience," said Summit SHRED LAB owner Marie Klobucar. "Their ideas were creative and practical, and their final presentation was clear and professional."

Klobucar said the company used the students' new postcard design for a January 2026 mailing, which led to a positive return on investment.

"Our motto is 'Growth Starts With Change,' and this project brought that to life," she said.

For students, the project offered real-world experience beyond the classroom.

"Instead of a case study, we worked with a real business," Goetz said. "It helped us learn how to turn ideas into action."