BARRY COUNTY, Mich. — It's not the way most teenagers spend the last summer before their senior year of high school.
But a Barry County teenager is running her own business that she bought with her own money.
"I work three jobs to afford more stuff aside from this, so my whole week is full of stuff," said Island Ice owner Eva Corson.
"I'm learning experiences that I wouldn't from a normal job and I'm overall really grateful," said Corson. "I run it four times a week."
So how did Corson save up the money to afford a truck and get Island Ice off the ground?
The Barry County Fair.
"I showed pigs and we kept them in our house for around six months, raise them up, and we practiced all the time in the yard," said Corson. "And then we'd bring them to the fair with all my friends and camp there for the week."
After show week was done, she sold her pigs at the fair's auction.
"I saved up my money in a savings," said Corson. "It was initially going to be for college, but we decided to use it for something else to make more money for college."
While she's enjoying her first year in business, she's had her fair share of learning experiences.
"A lot of problem solving, because I'm here alone, a lot of times a generator will break or something goes wrong, I have to figure out how to do that myself, or go get things like food," said Corson. "I have to make sure that I'm gonna have enough food, I'm gonna, like if something breaks, it's on me to fix it or to figure out how to fix it."
For Corson, those experiences are worth it.
"I am sacrificing my last summer in high school to do this," said Corson. "But I think overall, it will give me more opportunity and set me apart from people because I'm doing this."
She is now saving up for a pickup truck to help pull her trailer. After her senior year, she wants to go to college to study business.
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