Et cetera : Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa Partners with Mount Mercy University

Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa Partners with Mount Mercy University to Pilot New Experiential Learning Program

Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa (JAEI) and Mount Mercy University have partnered to pilot the Busse Foundation JA Finance Park® Mobile learning experience for 25 college students on January 17th -18th at Betty Cherry Heritage Hall. Junior Achievement's first mobile capstone program for personal financial planning and career exploration will be celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony, hosted by the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, on January 17th .

JA Finance Park® Mobile, presented by the Busse Foundation, combines educator-led learning with a hands-on, immersive budgeting simulation. Students enrolled in BA 240: Personal Financial Planning, taught by Professor Seth Pennock, will complete two weeks of in-class lessons prior to stepping into the mobile city.

"The Busse Foundation is dedicated to supporting opportunities that enable members of our community to grow and thrive. The Foundation aims to invest in programs that help children flourish, support, and empower families, and advance educational opportunities. The Foundation is excited to partner with JA in its JA Finance Park® programming to further the mission of equipping young people with the financial tools necessary for success," said Jeff Busse, executive director of the Busse Foundation.

The Busse Foundation JA Finance Park® Mobile is a collaborative effort between our schools, businesses, and volunteer mentors who come together to inspire, guide, and teach students how to be financially capable and ready to take on their futures. From goal setting to saving, budgeting, shopping, bill paying, and investing students experience what it really takes to successfully navigate today's complex economy, and they come face-to-face with how their decisions today can impact their future.

Upon entering The Busse Foundation JA Finance Park® Mobile, each student is provided a tablet with a randomly generated "life persona" - a personal profile with the details of their "adult life", including job title, annual salary, age, marital status, debt, savings, and credit score.

Students visit life-like store fronts, exploring the advantages and disadvantages of the line items in their monthly budget. They will make choices on transportation, groceries, buying or renting a home, obtaining loans, insurance, savings accounts, investments, and charities- balancing up to 22 expenses without exceeding their budget. By the end of the simulation, students recognize that the decisions they make about education and their career will have an impact on their potential income and quality of life.

"For nearly 60 years, Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa has been focused on inspiring students through financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship education in the K-12 setting. For the first time in our history locally, as well as the first time in the nation, we are thrilled to partner with Mount Mercy University to provide post-secondary students with the JA Finance Park® capstone curriculum and an experience that engages them in hands-on learning to shape their financial future. Our JA Finance Park® curriculum will culminate with a visit to our mobile city, The Busse Foundation JA Finance Park® to provide hands-on learning with volunteer mentors as students will identify their career, navigate expenses, and reality-check their financial assumptions about their future. We believe this unique opportunity will connect their college education, career aspirations, and financial future in a way that will be memorable and inspire their choice-filled lives," said Dr. Nate Klein, Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa vice president of education.

About Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa (JAEI) Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa envisions a world in which young people have the skillset and mindset to build thriving communities. By advocating for experiential learning in every school in the world, and by nurturing partnerships with schools and other like-minded organizations, we envision a world in which no young person is left behind.

JAEI is dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in the global economy through work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy educational programs. JAEI's programs are delivered by 1,384 local volunteers that can provide students with real-world examples of how obstacles can be overcome, and success achieved. JAEI provides its programs to 45,257 students throughout Eastern Iowa which includes Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Fayette, Delaware, Grundy, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Tama counties. For more information, visit www.JAEasternIowa.org