Junior Achievement leader nurtures future entrepreneurs
Mike Davis often asks people if, as children, they knew their job existed. The president of Junior Achievement of Central Ohio finds they usually say no.
That’s why he and his team work to educate children about various jobs and see how their skills and interests can impact their future work. The nonprofit introduces career possibilities and financial literacy through BizTown, a simulated town where students run businesses, write checks and elect a mayor.
The organization teaches older students skills through classroom programs focused on running a business.
“JA opens the door to possibility and gives students the confidence and skills to walk through it,” he said. “We inspire students to dream big, but to also realize their dreams are achievable as we help them connect what they are learning in school to the real world.”
Question: Why is it important for children to develop entrepreneurial thinking?
Answer: By developing students’ entrepreneurial thinking, or in other words critical thinking, we are helping to build a pipeline of future employers and employees who have strong decision-making, leadership and problem-solving skills and are prepared to succeed. The American Society of Training and Development states that 50 percent of its member organizations report difficulty finding employees with leadership and executive-level skills such as goal-setting, planning, motivation and decisionmaking. Junior Achievement programs help bridge that gap.
Q: How does the central Ohio JA stack up with JAs in other metro areas in Ohio and across the country?
A: JA of Central Ohio is one of nine JA affiliates in the state. Our JA BizTown, a capstone program, is also one of only 30 sites in the
country, bringing students from 41 districts across the state to participate in this mini-simulation representing Columbus. Among the nine Ohio offices, we have the highest number of contact service hours, with our volunteers serving over 306,000 hours in the 20152016 academic year. Our biggest measure of success is how the students respond to our programs. Through pre- and post-testing evaluations, we measure students’ understanding of content, attitude and behavior towards their future goals and how they value their JA program experience.
Q: How does the local business community support JA?
A: The local business community provides JA with leadership on our board and committees. They also partner with us financially and through providing thousands of volunteers to work with our students.
Q: How does your background complement the JA program?
A: My background reflects what we hear from many of our students, alumni and community partners. During my childhood, I often did not connect what I learned in school with my future opportunities or career. After college, I worked for a large insurance company and then founded my own business and managed it for 10 years. I eventually found my passion and began working in leadership roles for large nonprofit organizations for 13 years prior to joining JA of Central Ohio. JA combines my experience of working in the for-profit world and nonprofit community as we help young people link their interests, skills and values to potential career opportunities much earlier in life and help them develop the knowledge, attitude and behaviors to achieve success in their lives and careers.
Q: What values and attributes does JA promote, and how are they passed along to students?
A: To help students envision what their future may look like, our programs provide the needed knowledge to understand financial literacy, entrepreneurship and career readiness. Throughout our programs students gain interpersonal skills, develop leadership qualities and learn problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Studies have shown that JA programs help cultivate young people to have the knowledge, attitude and behaviors to achieve success in their lives and careers.
Q: What are the primary advantages students gain from JA involvement?
A: JA students gain an understanding of what it takes to be successful in their career and develop the confidence needed to compete for their dream job or build their own company. Also, research supports that JA programs produce more financially literate graduates that have the ability to better manage their personal finances — saving more, borrowing less and going bankrupt less frequently. Simply put, students who participate in JA develop skills to use throughout their lives to build their own professional and personal success.