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Biztown Prepares Students for the 21st-Century Workplace
By Emily Gaines Buchler
In addition to working in an actual workplace, students picked up practical tips about handling their own finances. They learned to write checks and balance a checkbook, and they discovered the process of applying for and getting a loan. At the end of the week, they pulled from everything they learned to write and present plans for a new business.
Here's what three students had to say about their experience.
By Pablo Ramirez-Espejo
I signed up for the camp because it’s fun, and I wanted to find out more about the real world. During the camp, they taught us how different workplaces operate and the qualities employers look for in the people they choose to hire.
While there, I worked in the Toyota Financial Services as an assistant manager. I learned so much, including: how to write a check, how to keep track of my spending, how to apply for business loans, how to make and develop products and, most importantly, how to prepare for a job interview. I also picked up smaller—but important—tips, such as always looking the person you are talking to in the eye and shaking their hand when you arrive. I also learned to say "thank you" when I leave. By Gissele Vargas
My time at camp will help me in the future by knowing what and how to do at a job interview and an actual job—and how to stay a step ahead of the game.
By Edwin Vargas Junior Achievement Biztown taught me how life will be in the future, when I grow up.
During the camp, I worked as a gym CEO at Merritt Athletic Club. The job of a CEO is to obtain bank loans, sign all business payroll and expense checks and prepare and give speeches at the opening town meeting.
The camp taught me a number of things, such as how to write a check, how to keep track of spending and what life is like working in a professional job. These experiences will help me in the future by teaching me how the business world works.
By Leslie Vargas
I signed up because I knew it would be fun—and give me a sense of what life is like for adults in the 21st century.
At camp, I worked in utilities as the chief financial officer (CFO), which was a lot of work. The CFO pays all of the business expenses, deposits checks to pay off the loan and handles all other financial transactions.
What I learned this week was the importance of paying bills on time—especially the loan payment. I also learned that, while some businesses require more work than others, nearly all businesses involve hard work.
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Participating in mock interviews, holding professional jobs around town and drafting new business and development plans—that's what students ages 10 to 14 in Junior Achievement Biztown spent a week doing this summer at Junior Achievement B. Sponsored by the U.S. Hispanic Youth Entrepreneur Education (USHYEE) and held from June 21 to 25, the camp offered students a chance to witness firsthand the ins and outs of the 21st-century workplace, with its rampant use of technology—e-mail, cell phones and computer software—and its fast-paced ways of doing business. 
At Junior Achievement Biztown Summer Camp (JA Biztown), I learned how to run my own business.
From electing our mayor to receiving our last paycheck, my time at Junior Achievement Biztown Summer Camp was very fun. 
At Junior Achievement Biztown, I learned to handle more responsibilities and to get organized.
