Fidelity mentors CPS students through JA's Economics for Success

About 100 students from Western Hills University High School gathered at Fidelity Investments last week for a daylong session of Junior Achievement’s Economics for Success.
 
At the workshop, which was led by Fidelity employees volunteering with the program, students learned various concepts, such as economic self-awareness, budgeting, and the advantages and disadvantages of using credit and debit cards.
 
“One student said he learned it’s very important to stay within your budget; and for kids nowadays, they don’t have a clue on that, because everybody spends everything they’ve got,” says Carol Burns, vice president of education at Junior Achievement of OKI Partners, Inc.
 
In addition to the valuable takeaways, students ate lunch with Fidelity employees who served as mentors and were able to have real conversations with students about things like career aspirations.
 
“They got to ask questions about that person’s job and things like that, so that was a real important part,” Burns says. “Then they did a tour at Fidelity so they could witness and see people at work, so that’s good so that they see a variety of jobs and that certain jobs take a higher level of education, while some are at a more basic level of education.”
 
Burns says it was evident that the lunch session played an impactful role in students’ lives. For example, one student told her he learned it’s important to have a backup plan.
 
“I thought that was good terminology because he wanted to be an NFL football star,” Burns says.
 
“So he says, ‘If that doesn’t work, I’ll be a chef’—a little different end of the spectrum—but at least he understood the concept, because I have people that say they’re going to be an NBA star, and the new things for girls—it used to be a model—but now they want to be a reality star. So it tells us, ‘I need a backup plan,’ and that’s a great message.” 

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By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a project manager for Charitable Words. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.