Ribbon cutting ceremony held for Junior Achievement center in Salisbury
SALISBURY, Md- Community leaders from Salisbury and across the state gathered for the ribbon cutting for the Junior Achievement Center in Salisbury Thursday morning.
The center promises to give an interactive, fun, and informative experience around personal finances for 10,000 students a year when doors open this November.
“A lot of the curriculum that prepares them for the simulation is things that you kind of always wish you had learned when you were growing up, so mortgages, credit cards, interest rates, health care insurance, buying a car,” said the Director of the Center Jayme Hayes, who has been spearheading the efforts to get the center up and running since 2021.
Hayes says that many students could be the first on the home with those types of financial skills, that they will receive by interacting with the center’s storefronts, hosted by actual businesses from the Salisbury Area.
The lessons will see students going from center to center simulating a day of shopping to help form a budget, and will be given a laptop to help track purchases.
The center’s curriculum Director Tori Stevents says students will be visiting 4 times before graduating with lessons on personal finances and workforce and career readiness.
“They will get a chance to vote while they’re here, they can come to visit the health care center, they will really be kind of like adulting for the day and making those financial and economic decisions that are important for their future success,” she said.
One of the storefronts includes the Pohanka Service Center, where students can get a chance to learn how to change a tire and practice shopping for a car during a purchase.
“We want to be able to give the students the experience of what it feels like not only to work in the car industry and the many jobs and opportunities that we have, kids, coming in looking for employment in this area. But also, what are the differences between financing a car, and buying a car,” said Pohanka Marketing Director Conrad Morgan.
Hayes says she wants to break the stigma of having to leave Delmarva for students to see success, and hopes the spotlight on local businesses and careers can give students the optimism to stay local.
“The opportunity here is for all of our 10,000 students to see what businesses and what opportunities are right here in their backyard, and they’re going to have the opportunity to create a pipeline for all of our businesses here on the Eastern Shore, We want them to stay here and thrive here and help our community grow,” Hayes said.
