JA Stories | Junior Achievement of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Oscar's Story - What I Could Make of Myself...

Oscar got involved with Junior Achievement during his junior and senior years of high school. "This program was transformative for me." At the start of his junior year, Oscar was a straight C and D student. In his words, he had a "no homework policy". He thought school was a waste of time and nothing he was learning seemed practical. One day someone from Junior Achievement visited his high school to talk about the Company Program. A friend of his decided to apply, so Oscar did too.

Tamani's Story - Plant a Seed...

JA Bowl-a-Thon

When Tamani was young, she couldn't answer the common question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" She didn't know. She wasn't focused on that. She spent more energy trying to survive as the only girl (other than her mom) in a house of boys. In addition to 2 brothers, she had 8 cousins—all boys. "I was a product of my environment," Tamani said. Her world was very small. Her mom worked for Richardson & Co. and her dad was an entrepreneur—he owned a record store and a hoagie stand. But that was something he did with "the boys".

When her mom's company got involved with Junior Achievement, she decided to sign Tamani up for the Company Program.

Craig's Story - Taking the Plunge...

Even though Craig was a JA alumni, he was nervous about teaching. "I had some trepidation in the beginning," he said, but he remembered participating in the company program when he was a student. So when a list of charitable opportunities came to him from Bank of America where he's worked for 6 years, JA rang a bell. The school they were volunteering at was close by and he'd have the chance to help kids from economically challenged families, which was important to him. "Gotta take the plunge!" he thought.

"I look forward to teaching JA each year! The JA activities are engaging and allow me to bring my world into the classroom."

-Junior Achievement Volunteer
"The students got a real idea of what a corporate office is like and some of the tools and technology they will use in the future."

-Junior Achievement Volunteer