Author: Makenzie Morris
Community Involvement
Published:
Thursday, 01 Jan 2026
Sharing
The Opportunity That Sparked a Passion
Saree Hahn, JA Volunteer
Teaching kindergartners is where it all started for me.
It was fall, and my son had just started school when his teacher asked if I would be their Junior Achievement (JA) volunteer. That single opportunity eventually led to my love of teaching in the classroom.
Over the past 15 years as a JA volunteer, my passion for teaching children about financial literacy, smart money choices, work readiness, and entrepreneurship has continued to grow. I have taught JA programs at every grade level, and I honestly cannot pick a favorite. Each age group offers something unique and rewarding, making it easy to keep coming back year after year.
I have been blessed to learn from my grandfather and father, both brilliant businessmen who instilled in me the values and skills needed to become a successful and financially savvy businesswoman. My father played a significant role in shaping my career in accounting & leadership without even realizing it.
In my early twenties, I began working at his powder coating company. I started at the bottom as a shop laborer and worked my way up through the company. Along the way, I tried to learn everything I could from him. Those experiences ultimately led me to a successful career in accounting. Hard work and determination are two qualities that have helped me become who I am today, and my father has been an incredible mentor throughout my journey.
On July 15, 2025, I underwent a life-saving medical procedure: a living donor liver transplant made possible by my sister's extraordinary gift. To say my life has changed over the past year would be an understatement.
This journey has given me the opportunity to slow down and reflect on what truly matters. As I focused on healing, I began to realize that my career in finance and accounting might be coming to a close. One unexpected blessing from this experience has been the opportunity to become more involved in my community and dedicate more time to teaching through Junior Achievement.
During the Spring 2026 semester, I taught six JA classes, reaching approximately 140 students. From February through May, I was in the classroom three days each week. As the semester progressed and my final sessions approached, I found myself dreading the end of the school year. I simply was not ready to leave the classroom. For the first time, I began seriously asking myself whether a career change might be possible.
Now, as summer winds down and the start of a new school year approaches, my heart is already smiling. Knowing that I will soon return to the classroom fills me with excitement for the students I will meet and the impact I hope to make.
While I still have a health journey ahead of me and continue working toward a new normal—whatever that may look like—I remain focused on teaching and discovering where this path may lead. I am excited to see what the next year brings. Whether I find myself in the classroom part-time or full-time, I know that education will be part of my future.
My love for children and teaching would never have developed without Junior Achievement. The reward I feel every time I leave a classroom is what keeps drawing me back. The hugs and thank-you notes are simply a bonus.
Looking back, what began as a volunteer opportunity in my son's kindergarten classroom has become a passion, a purpose, and perhaps even the next chapter of my life.
The Lessons That Last: My Junior Achievement Story
Pauline Evans, Black Hawk College
As a junior in high school in 1977, I had no particular interest in business, but I did want to take advantage of extracurricular opportunities to learn, especially about how the adult world worked. One of those opportunities was Junior Achievement, which gave high school students the chance to form and run a miniature business. Our advisors, from Stanley Works (in New Britain, CT), helped us organize the company, which we called Vendex. They had done a lot of the work up front, providing an idea for a product, design, and machinery for making the product, ideas for company names, and, of course, education on how running a company worked.
We each bought shares of stock in our new company for $1 each and sold additional shares to our parents and their friends. We elected officers for the company, who then had what I considered the unenviable responsibility of getting a bunch of teenagers to work together and get things done. I had no interest in management, being much more comfortable as just another production worker. But I learned in the process much more than I had ever understood from just textbooks what it meant to invest in a company, and how revenues and expenses resulted in a profit (or loss).
I also learned that I did not ever want to go into sales, although I was able to sell a number of the denim tote bags we manufactured. (My mother used hers for years, until it finally wore out.) I also learned a lot about the difficulties of keeping a production line running efficiently when absence due to sickness (or otherwise simply not showing up) or inactivity due to chatting with friends, instead of getting work done, resulted in work piling up at one workstation because it wasn’t being processed at the next one. We could alleviate the problem somewhat by learning each other’s jobs, and eventually I think I knew all the steps from cutting fabric to finishing the bag.
I don’t remember how much I made as a production worker at a sewing machine, how much money Vendex made in the end, or what kind of return we were able to give to our shareholders. But I have never forgotten the hands-on introduction to business that Junior Achievement gave me, far more meaningful than anything I could have learned in a classroom.
About thirty years later, I had the opportunity to become a Junior Achievement classroom volunteer. It might not be like my own experience in Junior Achievement, but I wanted to do what I could to contribute to young people’s financial literacy. I have been a classroom volunteer on and off over the past fifteen years or so, working with students from first through sixth grade, and have presented several different JA programs. Since I only see the students five or six times, I don’t get much sense of how much they really carry with them from my presentations, but they’re learning something at least about money, the things we buy with it, and about different kinds of jobs and companies. And it’s given me the chance to share about my own experiences, from making my own greeting cards and selling them door to door as a young girl to studying abroad as a college student and gaining a new perspective on cultural differences and their significance for global trade.
Building Connections Beyond the Curriculum
Chris Ford, President & CEO of River Bend Food Bank
When I first agreed to teach a Junior Achievement class, I thought I was doing something for them—a small way to give back, share a little real‑world knowledge, and hopefully make economics and business feel a bit more approachable. What I didn’t realize was just how much the experience would end up giving me in return.
On that first day, I walked into the classroom with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. The students weren’t sure what to make of me either. There’s always a warm‑up period—those first few minutes of polite smiles, curious glances, and the unspoken question hanging in the air: Who is this person, and what is he doing here? But as with most meaningful relationships, it didn’t take long for the walls to come down.
By my second or third visit, everything felt different. The energy changed. The kids recognized me as soon as I walked in, and their faces lit up. We were genuinely happy to see each other. They knew I was someone who showed up, who cared, and who brought real stories from the real world.
At the time, I was working for Pepsi, and that turned out to be an unexpected advantage. Suddenly, business concepts weren’t abstract; they were connected to products they saw every day. I could talk about supply chains and marketing using examples they recognized from store shelves or the commercials they’d grown up with. Sharing stories from the beverage world made the lessons come alive. The students leaned in, asked questions, and connected the dots between classroom learning and life outside those walls.
A huge part of the experience was made easier by JA’s curriculum. Everything was well-organized, thoughtfully structured, and simple to follow. The preparation wasn’t overwhelming; it felt purposeful. Instead of spending hours figuring out what or how to teach, I could focus on connecting with the students—on making the lessons meaningful.
And somewhere along the way, something unexpected happened: I realized I was getting more out of the experience than I ever anticipated. There’s a deep, unique fulfillment that comes from seeing a student grasp a concept because you explained it. There’s satisfaction in watching them light up when they understand how the world works a little better than they did before. And there’s something incredibly grounding about stepping away from the daily grind to invest in the next generation.
Teaching that JA class didn’t just make an impact on the students; it made an impact on me. It reminded me why mentorship matters, why investing in young people is so important, and why sometimes the most meaningful rewards come from showing up, sharing what you know, and being open to what you might learn in return.
A Love Story Rooted in Junior Achievement
Mike & Stasia Brannon, Brannon Monument Co.
Junior Achievement has always focused on teaching the next generation about fiscal literacy and responsibility, market-based economics, and entrepreneurship. When we were in high school, the core JA experience was the evening program. It was there that we worked alongside students from all over the tri-state area, learning the basics of setting up real, working businesses.
I (Stasia) worked in companies that actually made and sold products—like a hanger that still hangs in my dad’s closet today. Mike was involved in the accounting and banking companies that supported those JA production businesses.
It was through the evening program, working with company sponsors and their employee mentors, that we truly realized the importance of community service. While we have always believed it’s important to be involved in the communities where we live and work, what we’ve received from that involvement has come back to us tenfold.
In business, you quickly learn that things often come full circle. Being honored as Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Laureates has been especially meaningful to our family. Recently, our oldest daughter, Emily, began teaching basic economics in the JA Our Nation program.
The first lessons—and recognition—of our business knowledge began when we were young people in Junior Achievement.
Teaching, Laughing & Making an Impact: Years of JA in the Classroom
Ashley Dekarske, Merrill Lynch
I’ve had the joy of teaching kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 5th grade classes—both JA‑in‑a‑Day and the traditional five‑week format. Most of my time has been spent at Harrison Elementary, though I’ve also volunteered in Iowa City, Walcott, and other Davenport schools. Kindergarten and 1st grade have always held a special place in my heart, and I’ve been fortunate to teach the same classrooms in those grades every year.
One of my favorite moments happens during the 1st grade JA Our Families program, session three. The first vocabulary word is entrepreneur. After reviewing what we learned the week before and chatting with the students about their week, I hold up the vocabulary card and ask, “Who wants to give this word a try?” Their guesses are always creative and enthusiastic.
Once they’ve taken their best shot, I pronounce the word entrepreneur and share the definition. Then I ask, “Does anyone think that sounds like a French word?” The kids usually giggle and nod—and that’s when I lean into my most dramatic, over‑the‑top French accent and shout, “ENTREPRENEUR!” followed by an exaggerated “Oui, oui, oui!” The students always burst into laughter, but the best part is that the teacher laughs every single time. It’s a small moment, but it’s one of my favorites year after year.
From 1997 to 2024: A 30-Classroom Journey with Junior Achievement
Mike Huntley, Group O
"Group O has long been a big supporter of Junior Achievement, and soon after joining the team in August of 1996, I was encouraged to volunteer in the classroom for JA. Giving back to the community I grew up in felt right, and if Group O supported a cause, I did as well.
I don't recall exactly what year I started teaching. It was 1997 or 1998, and I taught an early elementary class at Horace Mann Elementary. I was a little nervous for the first class, but I found it was fairly easy, and JA prepared me with the appropriate resources. Next semester I taught at Edison Junior High with Ms. Erickson, and she made the classes so easy to manage and worked with me at times to help with the lessons. From that point on, every class I taught was with Ms. Erickson. We taught together until 2024 when we both retired. Early on, I sometimes taught fall and spring sessions, so I imagine I have completed 30 or so classes over the years.
I really enjoyed visiting the classroom. The 3rd and 4th graders were always a fun bunch that had little problem engaging, and the JA curriculum allowed me to teach some topics I am passionate about - budgeting, wants/needs, the evil side of credit, etc. The last class of the semester was always bittersweet. Every time I gained more and more appreciation for the tough job our educators have and was thankful for my career in IT! Ms. Erikson always had a batch of thank you cards created by the kids, and they were always a treat to enjoy back at the office. Every once in a while, a student I had previously taught would approach me somewhere in town (like a Rocky game) and say hello, and that never failed to make my heart smile."
Ready, Set, Work! Celebrating 25+ Years of the 7th Grade JA Career Work Day & QCCTEC
QCCTEC Team
For over 25 years, the Quad City Career & Technical Education Consortium (QCCTEC) and Junior Achievement (JA) have partnered to provide special population students with transformative career exploration. Now led by Special Populations Coordinator Steve Smithers and the QCCTEC team, the annual 7th Grade Career Work Day introduces students to essential workplace skills in a highly supportive environment. This February 2026, 34 students from Wilson Middle, Northeast Junior High, Geneseo Middle, Cambridge Junior High, and Edison Junior High gathered for the event at the JA Inspiration Center in Moline.
The students rotated through immersive, 20-minute career sessions in Animal Care, Delivery and Mail Services, Grocery Store Operations, Banking, and Restaurant Work. Built on an engaging “learning while earning” model, the program empowered students to complete hands-on tasks while mastering vital soft skills like communication, teamwork, customer service, and time management.
Beyond just learning the ropes, the students got to experience the tangible rewards of employment. At the end of their shifts, each student was issued an actual paycheck. To access their funds, they were required to endorse the check with their own signature and take it directly to the center's bank to process. With their hard-earned wages in hand, the students experienced the thrill of financial independence, managing their money to shop for items at makeshift stores created specifically for the event.
The day also featured lunch from Jersey Mike’s and an interactive session with Weinert Music Therapy to foster community and connection. Made possible by dedicated volunteers from QCCTEC, JA, the Quad City Animal Welfare Center, and Weinert Music Therapy, the event was a remarkable success.
After more than two and a half decades, this initiative continues to be a powerful catalyst for personal growth. Students gain invaluable insight into the workforce, leaving the Inspiration Center with newfound confidence, independence, and the inspiration to explore their boundless potential.
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