In Fall 2014, The Myers-Lawson School of Construction collaborated with representatives from Associated Builders and Contractors, Ennis Electric, Hitt, and Shapiro & Duncan Mechanical Contractors to create a construction industry “storefront” at Junior Achievement’s Finance Park in Fairfax, VA. Finance Park is a state-of-the-art 20,000 square-foot facility filled with storefronts sponsored by companies from a variety of industries, including Capital One, Volkswagen, and CVS Pharmacy. At the conclusion of their four-week personal finance curriculum, middle school students spend a day at Finance Park, where they are immersed in a reality-based decision-making process addressing aspects of individual and family budgeting, including housing, transportation, food, utilities, health care, investments, philanthropy, and banking. The on-site activities are designed to allow students the opportunity to apply what they learned in the classroom to understand the basic steps of maintaining a realistic budget. Our storefront, “The Construction Zone”, provides students with an overview of career options in the industry and challenges them to make responsible budgetary decisions when determining what type of home to buy, build or rent.
Finance Park supports the learning of 14,000 middle school students each year. Through our storefront, we hope to help students develop their financial literacy skills while inspiring them to pursue careers in the construction industry. For more information on Finance Park and Junior Achievement, please visit their website at http://www.myja.org/financepark/
Content provided by: Josh Iorio
