How many of us remember back in the day when the folks from Junior Achievement visited our schools to offer us the opportunity to participate in a project that taught us how a company works? Recently, a group of students from Waynesburg Central Elementary took part in a six-week career readiness class. The class prepared them for the day they would spend being business people at an intense simulation of the real world called “Biz Town”.
Before their trip, students prepared by learning about the processes involved in employment. Sixth grade teacher Ashton Shaffer explained the students prepared by learning about job acquisitions, writing resumes, having elections, going through the interview process, and banking.
“I learned how to deposit checks and get a loan.” – Carlie Febinger (CFO of ALCOSAN)
She said the process was intense and, on the day of the event, the students sold products they had created, held company meetings, had timed lunch breaks, and had to pay back their small business loans at the end.
“I learned how to do a business loan and how to work with people who I’m not friends with,” says Natalee Kirkham (CEO of Clearview Federal Credit Union).
Junior Achievement has been around for decades and offers several types of opportunities for students from elementary grades through high school. As a non-profit, their goal is to inspire and prepare young people for success. They work with local companies to fund programs like the one that these students were part of.
“I learned a lot from BizTown! It was an amazing experience, not just for me, but for everyone. I hope that future classes get to enjoy JA Biztown because it’s fantastic,” says Gianna Stephenson (CEO of UPMC).
These opportunities for students are important. The children get a sense of how it really is out there, and they do have the ability to be successful when they enter the workforce as adults.
“At JA Biztown, I learned what it’s like to have a job and pay bills. It was super fun and a great experience,” says Chloe Shaffer (Engineer at Carmeuse).
Waylon Hodgson (FedEx Delivery Driver) says, “What I liked about BizTown was the ability to skip a few years in time to feel what it is like to have a job.”
The students, teacher Ashton Shaffer, and the Waynesburg Central School District would like to thank Equitrans, who provided help for the opportunity was through a grant, and the Western Pennsylvania Junior Achievement organization for providing the opportunity to participate in this true to life experience.
“I really enjoyed going to BizTown! It was really fun getting to be the CEO of a company. Although some of my employees were absent, I enjoyed doing more than one job. Thank you for making it possible to go to BizTown,” says Isaiah Griffieon (CEO of ALCOSAN).
