JULIE BERTRAND/Independent reporter
A group of 125 students from Wm. E. Hay Composite High School spent last Wednesday, April 27 in Red Deer getting a taste of how it feels to be an adult.
During an “Economics for Success” seminar at the Red Deer College, students were engaged in a variety of interactive activities to discover that there will be personal and economic consequences to the choices they now make with regard to their education.
In the course of the four sessions at the seminar, the students weighed different career options with their teachers and the volunteers, and learned how to do budgeting
“During the second lesson, we told students they were moving away from home that day and they all they had was what they had with them,” said Lorie Penner, east central regional coordinator for Junior Achievement.
“We gave them a basic budget and an entry-level job with a paycheck and everything. They had to look through newspapers and figure out where they were going to live and whether they could afford living on their own.”
Students also had the option of having a driver’s license and a car.
The third lesson was spent talking about employable skills and the students practiced job interviews.
“Lesson four, we talked world models and we talked about debunking career myths and looking at where the hot jobs are,” said Penner.
During lunch break, students were able to tour Red Deer College and get familiar with a college environment.
Some 450 students from the central Alberta region and 27 volunteers from the local business community participated in the event.
“We had lots of great feedback from the students, the volunteers and the teachers. We were quite pleased,” said Kelli Ritz-Virtanen, Junior Achievement regional coordinator for Central Alberta.
“The tours gave the students a good exposure to the college. It’s the second year that the high school goes to that day,” said Rhonda Brown, career counselor at the Wm. E Hay.