Be Inspired

JA My Journey

St. Louis

Work and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy; 5 ICH 

An experience for K-5th grade that meets the requirements from YMCAs, YWCA, Day Cares, and Summer Schools. A large majority of these locations are working with students who have already been exposed to the traditional in-school JA programs. These sites want activities that do not require preparation on their staff’s time, and is easy and contained all in one packet. There is a different workbook by grade band and the programs have been developed with the core JA purpose of adhering to the principals of teaching financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship skills to the students.

 JA Start with the End in Mind

St. Louis

Work and Career Readiness; 4 ICH

JA Start with the End in Mind is designed for middle and high school students to use as a guide, complete with tools and tips, to create a thoughtful plan for their lives beyond high school. It is on the cutting edge of college and career readiness with attention to soft and technical skills development for success in the world of work.  Program includes four sessions recommended for middle and high school students. Student-friendly workbooks include engaging and thought-provoking activities.

 JA Entrepreneurship Summit

Washington, DC

Entrepreneurship; 40 ICH

 The JA Entrepreneurship Summit is an intensive "startup boot camp" where high school students are challenged to design ready-to-launch, socially conscious businesses. The experience culminates in a pitch presentation to a panel of esteemed business leaders. Over the course of five days, students brainstorm and collaborate with peers, attend mini-seminars and workshops, and learn from business leaders and trained volunteer mentors. By participating, students develop the technical and soft skills needed to not only become successful entrepreneurs, but also to meet the demands of a rapidly changing economy in a variety of professions and careers.

JA Summer Institute

Boston

Work and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy; 6 ICH

 A weeklong summer opportunity providing students a self-selecting camp-style program.  High School students participate in a program that exposes them to relevant topics, such as budgeting, saving and investing, and goal setting, while also providing the forum for peer-to-peer networking and exposure to nearly 100 professionals from companies in and around the Greater Boston Area.

JA Start It Up

Denver

Work and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship; 5 ICH

 JA Start It Up is designed to engage students in an immersive business development experience enabling them to experience the creativity, sense of accomplishment and excitement that careers in entrepreneurship and business can offer. The program is designed to fit a one-day format, operating as a field trip experience within the walls of the school. The JA Start It Up program is a project-based learning experience. In teams, students develop a new flavor of Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn (Oogie’s) designed to appeal to a target audience of their peers.

JA Career Bound

Ft. Lauderdale

Work and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy; 55 ICH

 While gaining knowledge of several local industries, JA Career Bound Students will partner with a host business that will present a problem for the students to solve. Using project-based learning, students develop innovative ideas while working collaboratively to solve the presented business challenge. During the student industry tour, the host businesses facilitate the launch of the case challenge and ensure understanding of the task, serve as a mentor coach to assist the students through their research, analysis, and/or through their solution creation. The host company will evaluate student presentations, provide feedback and select a winning team during the Case Challenge Showcase. 

Students collaborate with their peers to participate in case challenges throughout the school year with host companies to help them solve real world problems within their business. Executives share pathways to career success and provide guided mentorship. Students build strong workforce skills, learn interviewing techniques, resume writing and soft skills through project-based learning. They also have summer internship opportunities and may be able to earn one school credit upon completion of the program.

JA Our Money

Ft. Wayne

Financial Literacy; 5 ICH

 Pre-k and K students learn and understand the meaning of value and how everything has value. Also, how a student can earn money with jobs, chores and tasks. How important it is to know the difference between spending and saving and lastly, how sharing within a community and identify different ways to share.  Students are introduced to the concepts of choice, value, earning and working for money, sharing, spending and saving.

JA Miss Business

Knoxville

Work and Career Readiness; 5 ICH

This is an experience to help young women expand their horizons and to encourage them to pursue executive level business careers. This day-long event is designed to connect our future leaders with successful, professional women eager to share what they know with the next generation. JA Miss Business encourages young women to seek meaningful and dynamic leadership careers, build valuable communication skills and to foster empowerment. Junior Achievement's JA Miss Business experience connects generation, showcases educational & career opportunities in business and inspires young women to develop the executive mindset!

 JA Men’s Talk

Los Angeles

Work and Career Readiness, Financial Literacy; 4 ICH

 JA Men's Talk is a powerful leadership summit for male students with male business and community leaders serving as mentors and panelists to stress the importance of education, develop their talents, instill confidence, and inspire the next generation of leaders. The event features a moderator, three panelist speakers, and approximately 20 role-models from the community that will share their personal stories, educational and career paths, and help guide students through activities designed to help them discover their authentic leadership capabilities and map their future career paths. The high school boys will be engaged at tables with role models by a powerful panelists Q&A, budget practice, networking practice, visionary goal setting, and lunch.

JA Spark

LIncoln

Entrepreneurship; 6 ICH

 JA SPARK is a one day event for high school students. The students will learn from some of the best entrepreneurs in the city of Lincoln and then have the opportunity to be mentored through out the day. Students will generate ideas, learn how to conduct market research and discover the critical steps to succeed in the business world. During the day they will put these skills to the test and create their very own business plan.

JA Trust Your Crazy Ideas

New Orleans

Entrepreneurship; 5-20 ICH

Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge is a high school entrepreneurship competition that challenges students to pitch their best startup idea for a chance to win up to $15,000 in continuing education funds! 

Create It:  Learn about entrepreneurs and how they create their ideas in the Fall with our locally developed JA Catalyst curriculum.

Submit It:  Answer a few questions on the submission form about your Crazy Idea for a chance to be picked as a Semi-Finalist!

Plan It:  Work with local entrepreneurs and mentors to turn your Crazy Idea into a full-fledged business plan at the Idea Accelerator workshop series in the Spring.

Pitch It: Pitch your Crazy Idea to a panel of judges at The Big Pitch for a chance at up to $15,000 in scholarships, $7,500 for your school.

JA University

New York

Work and Career Readiness; 3 ICH

 Many students need guidance to help them navigate the path to higher education and other post-secondary education options that are available to them. JA University is a locally developed program that introduces high school students to the process, preparing them to identify the different types of education opportunities available, understand the different costs associated with each of these options, learn about ways to finance their education needs, and develop a long-term academic plan to ensure they have the educational foundation needed for their preferred education/career paths.  Volunteers work with students in small groups through a 2.5-3 hour workshop on college exploration, budgeting and decision-making, and building a personalized college action plan.

 JA-Pinellas Summer Internship

Tampa Bay

Work and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy; 62 ICH

 JA partners with Pinellas Opportunity Council for a 6 week program that prepares students for a summer internship that they complete the last 4 weeks.  This experience is a collection of existing JA programs and content.

JA STEM Tec

Tampa Bay

Work and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy; 111 ICH

 This is a four week program. Students receive multiple JA programs so we are requesting approval to allow us to count students only once but apply ICH values at a higher level to reflect each each JA program the students participate in and related activities.  CareerSource Pinellas provides funding for summer staff who Junior Achievement trains on the JA programs that are implemented daily for four weeks. Junior Achievement follows up with each trained staff person to ensure quality implementation. All staff, including JA staff, participate in a weekly conference call to assist JA mentors.

JA STEM Summit

York

Work and Career Readiness; 5 ICH

 The STEM Summit is a day-long program held at local high schools across South Central PA. It consists of nine, thirty-minute sessions to include science, technology, engineering, and math activities. The fast pace and constant motion create an atmosphere of excitement and energy. The program, which is coordinated and run by Junior Achievement, involves up to 35 business volunteers who work with the students during the day. Volunteers have specific careers and are encouraged to share how STEM influences their job with the students throughout the day. The goal of the STEM Summit is to inspire students to pursue an academic STEM focus in the remainder of their high school courses. After the completion of the Summit, guidance counselors have a foundation to work with students on appropriate school course work.