Junior Achievement is an organization that aims to bring awareness to students about career opportunities, beginning in elementary school. Most students might’ve gone to JA Biztown in 4th or 5th grade, or JA Finance Park in 7th grade. In high school, students have the opportunity to attend JA Inspire.
JA is a place where students begin to explore the roles of community members and businesses, and how they come together for the good of our community. Counselor Dr. Swanson shares a series of lessons building up to a field trip where students get to meet employers in our local community.
Some of the lessons Swanson taught were self-assessments of students’ interest by doing a career interview. Based on the assessment, the sectors aligned with their skills and interests. From that,students spent time doing a deep dive into businesses and programs that were associated with their interest.
This was Dr. Swanson’s 2nd year taking students. She loves the stakeholder relationship that JA provides with businesses in our community and how they are prioritizing connecting with our students early.
“To see employers in our community like Norton, General Electric, Ford, and the Louisville Police Department show up and highlight the professions within their organizations and make that accessible for our students is a very powerful thing that brings careers to life for students,” Dr. Swanson said.
Jackson Riddle (11) had a great experience at JA.
“It was nice to see people actually engaged in career readiness. Seeing students my age at booths participating was uplifting,” Riddle said.
Hanna Iglesias (11) was particularly excited about this field trip and talks about her time there.
“My experience was very eye opening, it brought to light the many career choices in my community, and it gave me more clarity on what I want to do post high school,” Iglesias said.
JA is a program that is going to continue to flourish at Atherton. Dr. Swanson believes this opportunity builds interest within our school and hopes that next year’s juniors and seniors get to experience it.
“What I wish for our students is that they begin to plant the seed of long range planning, understanding a little bit about yourself, and then the steps needed to make your career goals a reality.” Swanson said.
