Whitehall High School student Aubrie Briody, among other Lehigh Valley school district students, is tackling a project for Just Born Quality Confections, Lehigh Career and Technical Institute announced Oct. 3.

Every December, Just Born host PEEPSFEST® at SteelStacks to welcome the new year. Instead of a midnight ball drop like in Times Square, the family-friendly Bethlehem bash features a PEEPS® chick drop, followed by a fireworks display.

The 4-foot, 9-inch, 400-pound chick is enormous and stored in a comparably sized wooden container. At the suggestion of James Rutt, Just Born tapped students from LCTI’s painting and design program to spruce up the storage container. Rutt is a logistics manager for the Bethlehem-based candy manufacturer and serves on LCTI’s safety occupational advisory committee.

Led by program teacher Keith Lyons, LCTI seniors Briody; Kylie Ackerman, of Northwestern Lehigh High School; Solimar Chung, of Louis E. Dieruff High School; and Joney Jones, of William Allen High School, teamed up to create a Just Born-approved design for the container. Then, they brought it to life with paint donated by Sherwin-Williams.

The Just Born-approved design features a sunset sky, silhouettes of Bethlehem Steel’s old blast furnaces and, of course, PEEPS® chicks.

Briody and Chung explained each element of the design is intended to evoke time, place or mood.

Fireworks, a disco ball and PEEPS® bunnies will be in the mix, as well, Jones said.

Ackerman said they began work on the project midway through September and have a Nov. 1 deadline for completion. She and the other girls are working diligently and expect to finish in plenty of time.

Every step in this process has proved to be a learning experience for his students, Lyons said.

They studied Just Born’s brand style guidelines, collaborated with the candymaker to finalize a design, worked with Sherwin-Williams to color match paint for the project and much more.

“It’s important for students to tackle a large-scale community service project because it helps them develop real-world skills, such as leadership, teamwork and project management,” Lyons said. “Such projects also teach responsibility and time management, showing students how their one or two actions can directly impact a community. Additionally, these experiences foster empathy, civic engagement and a sense of accomplishment, helping students understand the value of giving back while building confidence.”

LCTI is Pennsylvania’s largest career and technical school. Founded in 1971, LCTI offers nearly 50 career and technical education programs and dozens of college-preparatory academic courses for about 2,500 students from Lehigh County’s nine school districts. LCTI also offers industry-relevant training and credentials for adults in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. The school’s state-of-the-art facilities encompass 480,000 square feet on a 47-acre campus in the Schnecksville section of North Whitehall Township. Learn more at lcti.org.