Steward’s mission — to prepare students for college and for life — takes shape through experiences inside and beyond the classroom. Throughout their tenure, Spartans learn lifelong skills through topics and ideas that encourage critical thinking. A recent field trip inspired Upper Schoolers to imagine their future selves and to sharpen their economic know-how. 

On April 11, students in Jalyn Wheatley and Elizabeth Simpson’s Honors and College Prep Economics classes took a field trip to the Junior Achievement (JA) Finance Park in Richmond. The non-profit aims to give young people the knowledge and skills they need to plan for the future and make smart academic and economic choices. The students, who have spent the past semester studying the finer points of economics, participated in a budgeting simulation at the JA Finance Park to gain experience in managing their finances. 

To begin, students discussed their previous knowledge about budgeting in a trivia-style game. Then they split into small groups for a budgeting simulation facilitated by JA volunteers. 

“Each student was assigned an iPad that had a simulation exercise loaded onto it, and students filled out an interest form that helped them choose their future careers,” said Ms. Wheatley. “The simulation started with the students as 27-year-olds and they had to live off of their salaries and pay bills, taxes, and student loan debt — all based on the career they chose.”

Students factored in rent, groceries, and utilities based on how much they expected each to cost. Then, they learned the realistic costs for each category and spent their money. The simulation was then repeated but with our Spartans as 37-year-olds; participants could choose to have a spouse, have a child, and/or have a pet. They were paid slightly higher salaries but also had higher expenses. 

“After the experience of creating a budget during the first round, it was easier for them to stick to a budget the second time,” noted Ms. Wheatley.

Jordyn Adkins ’25 said, “The most memorable part of the day was interacting with my group’s volunteer. She shared facts about her financial life, which helped me make budgeting decisions based on my monthly salary.” Anna Carpinelli ’25 shared that the most important thing she learned was “the importance of budgeting and being aware of the different categories you might need money for.”

For Oren Ziehl ’25, the field trip was “a once-in-a-lifetime experience! The simulation was exceptional and so realistic,” he said. “I now understand how budgets unfold in the real world.”