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Seniors Learn About ‘Real Life’

By Mckayla Lloyd, Reporter • October 20, 2023

“Real life” day was an activity hosted by Junior Achievement at the high school on Oct. 12. The event consists of series of workshops with fun activities for seniors to learn real life financial challenges and how to create effective budgets.

Senior Madison Kleiman takes part in the “Who am I?” activity as part of Real Life day. The “Who am I?” activity aimed to help inspire students with what career they may want to pursue after high school. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Senior Mckayla Holland and other students partake in “Interview Jenga.” This was an activity to help students learn about how to prepare for a real-world job interview. They were able to do this while having fun due to the game setup. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Kristin Coolsen from Junior Achievement discusses why “Real Life” day is important. Junior Achievement put together and organized the event specifically for seniors. Assistant principal James Sterner believes that it is important to provide seniors with this information so they are prepared for life after high school, whether that be going to college, going into the military or going straight into a job. “I think it’s an important interruption to the senior year that allows seniors to get some information on budgeting, career, and real life as they quickly head to the end of their school experience,” Sterner said. “It’s my hope that topics discussed during real life sessions inspire conversations at home that will help inform our student transition to employment citizenship and their own real life.” Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Senior Lillian Gilbert works on a worksheet for the budget building activity. This activity helps show students the importance of budgeting due to the cost of expenses that will show up when you are older, such as taxes. Senior Ryan Gab said budgeting is very important to have a good future. “The amount of discipline it takes to manage money and to accomplish a place for yourself is the key to have a future,” Gab said. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Volunteer Mary Lee Hall and students gathered around “Interview Jenga.” For this game students had to answer a question about job interviews before they could move the block to the top. Many tips were given during this activity, such as what and what not to do during job interviews. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Interview questions were written on Jenga blocks. The student who pulled the block would discuss the answer with their group members. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Seniors Evan Kahl and Owen Comfort read off different types of jobs as part of the “Who am I?” activity. This activity was a fun way to help students look at different types of jobs. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Volunteer Tracee Rankin explains the “Who am I?” activity with students. The “Who am I?” activity was for students to see all the different options there are after high school. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Volunteer leader from Anne Arundel County Schools (MD) Charles Fallin explains the rules to the “Price is Right” activity. This activity had students guess the cost of everyday items and then reveal the actual price after guessing. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Students put their guesses in the different priced bags of what they thought each product was worth. Many students were surprised by how much everyday items really are. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Volunteer Terri Hebel, who works for Habitat for Humanity, helps students Anna-Marie Petricevic (left) and Lilly Wojcik (right) with the budget building activity. Students learned how much real life really costs. Senior Alison Karst realized the importance of budgeting and to make sure you budget based on your future way of living. “I learned how to budget and how to make sure your lifestyle fits your budgets,” Karst said. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Students guess how much Dunkin’ Donut coffee and other items might be. The “Price is Right” activity helps students realize how expensive a variety of items are, especially when it comes to the rising cost due to inflation. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Seniors Jada Ciletti (right) and Alyssa Rossi (left) make their guesses for the “Price is Right” activity. The “Price is Right” activity was a fun way to show students how expensive everyday items are, teaching them how to properly budget for grocery store items. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Half of the main gym is full of seniors participating in the budget building activity. Each table had a different volunteer from different jobs and backgrounds. The volunteers assisted students with budgeting in hopes that the students realize how expensive life can be. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

Senior Taylor Batton and other students play Junior Achievement’s version of the game of “Life” as part of the budget building activity. This edition of the game had students choose if they went to college or directly into the workforce. This activity showed the different outcomes of their spending and life choices. Photograph Courtesy of Tim Hare

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About the Contributor

Mckayla Lloyd, Reporter

McKayla Lloyd is a junior at SHS. She loves music, art and fashion. Besides writing for the Courier, McKayla loves to write poetry and always has some kind of idea brewing for another poem, story or song. In the future, she hopes to become a writer and musician. In addition, she always hopes to be able to create some kind of art to share to the world, whether its through fashion, art or music and hopes to inspire others in some way.

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Seniors Learn About ‘Real Life’

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