Sanford Junior High School students Jochebed Ollennu and Lakota Stevens were among 240 grade eight students taking part in Junior Achievement’s financial literacy program on Thursday and are shown here with JA volunteer Danielle Moody. TAMMY WELLS/Journal; Tribune
SANFORD — Save, or spend? Debit or credit? What about that credit score — and what about career options?
About 240 grade eight students at Sanford Junior High School explored those topics and others on Thursday, for a full day of financial literacy with Junior Achievement.
Financial literacy was the topic at hand at Sanford Junior High School on Thursday, and among the 240 grade eight students taking part were, from left, Makenzie Sodenlund, Sailor Chasse, James Blood, Colby Aceto, Jordan Stuart and Tyler LeBeuf. -TAMMY WELLS/Journal Tribune
About a dozen volunteers from various industries took part in the program, including Jason Payeur of New England Steel Fabricators and Danielle Moody of Moody’s Co-Worker Owned, Inc., popularly known as Moody’s Collision.
Payeur and Moody talked to Zach Lemelin’s social studies class about their skills, thinking about career choices, and how to be successful in a segment called “mirror, mirror.”
Moody said she didn’t like math when she was in school — but things change, and she now works in accounting and finance.
When deciding on a career, Payeur and Moody told students to ask themselves “What are you good at?”
The answers were varied. Some students said they were good at math, one said soccer. One girl said she was good at listening.
A boy said his skills included wrestling and the video game Fortnite.
Enjoying and being skilled at video games can indeed lead to a career, Moody said. She noted her that brother enjoyed online games as a boy — and went on to become a successful software developer.
Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 by Theodore Vail, president of American Telephone & Telegraph; Horace Moses, president of Strathmore Paper Co.; and Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts. Its first program was offered to high school students after school. In 1975, the organization entered the classroom with the introduction of Project Business for the middle grades.
In 1965, Halsey Smith Sr., president of Casco Bank & Trust Company in Portland, and other business leaders founded Junior Achievement of Maine.
Junior Achievement’s purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy, according to its website.
SJHS social studies department head Erin Barry said Junior Achievement has been coming to the junior high school for a number of years, initially providing business-oriented classes at various times throughout the year. For the past couple of years, an entire day has been devoted to the program.
Barry said the school’s own financial literacy classes were just about to start for the year, so the presentations came at a good time.
“It’s a nice way to kick it off,” she said.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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