Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio

Sponsor students to attend JA Virtual Inspire a virtual career exploration fair!

Imagine a world where every student graduates with a solid understanding of how to build a budget and the importance of saving for their future, a world where the value of entrepreneurship in our community is not only understood by our young people, but it is encouraged and supported, and a world where each student is given the opportunity to explore the variety of career pathways in front of them so that they can discover their passion in life.  Junior Achievement's primary reason for existence is helping every young person build, not only a better life for themselves, but a better life for their families, and ultimately stronger and more robust communities in which they live. 

This year schools are facing a daunting task of recovering from learning losses caused by the pandemic, and at JA we are wholly committed to ensuring that educators and students will have access to high quality, standards-based curriculum whether that means remote learning or face to face instruction.  That is why JA has adapted our programming into a library of remote learning resources that can be taught in a variety of settings regardless of the environment this school year.  From simple printable worksheets about building a budget, to online activities separated by grade level, and a virtual career exploration fair called JA Virtual Inspire, Junior Achievement’s resources are available to teachers, parents, and students at no cost.

JA Inspire Virtual is an interactive career exploration fair accompanied by a five lesson curriculum that will introduce over ten thousand  7th - 12th grade students to rewarding and successful career pathways.  Using a platform called vFairs JA will showcase our region's most in-demand jobs that span the spectrum from on-the job training right out of high school, to technical training post high school, to a college degree and beyond.   These are the positions employers are hiring for every day and cannot find enough qualified candidates fill their openings.  Students will browse virtual exhibit halls filled with a variety of employers, grouped by career clusters, and watch career speaker videos that teach them about the different career pathways available at each organization.  During the event students will be able to save resources and videos from each booth into their virtual backpack to revisit later at home, and they will be able to access all of the resources in the virtual environment for up to six months following the kickoff of the virtual fair.

Please consider sponsoring a student to attend JA Virtual Inspire by donating today!

Results of the Inaugural JA Inspire Career Exploration Fair last school year (March to June 2021):

17,232 students registered

Students attended from 11 counties across North Central Ohio

85 schools participated in the career exploration fair and curriculum

70 Companies hosted a virtual booth to share hundreds of career pathways

What students and teachers had to say about JA Virtual Inspire last school year:

River View High School Student - 10th Grade “Follow your dream and if you need to figure out what that is, go visit JA Inspire Virtual”

Marlington Middle School Student - 8th Grade “I learned that I can do anything I put my mind to. I have the choice to do what I want in the future.”

Cuyahoga Falls High School Student - 11th grade “There are a lot of jobs in Ohio for me; this helped me today with my future and I have a lot of opportunities”

Orrville Middle School student – 7th Grade “I liked when I had to take the job survey because it open my eyes to other job opportunities that I could possible do in the future.”

Triway Junior High School Student - 8th Grade I think this is a great program that is helping all kids to better understand what they want to do in the future!

Roberts Middle School Student - 8th Grade “It was cool to see all of the different job options and Colleges in Ohio.”

Minerva High School - Teacher “I am currently with my 4th group of students today.  All of the students are engaged and asking to spend more class time to continue their "visit".   From the teacher perspective, I am extremely impressed with the high level of organization and the quality of content.  Thanks for connecting MHS with this opportunity!!”