Preparing Nevada Students for the Decisions Ahead: Junior Achievement of Nevada

Junior Achievement of Nevada supports students by connecting classroom learning with real-world experience, helping young people build the skills and confidence to shape their futures.

Young students celebrate their first-place victory with a $9,000 team check at Junior Achievement’s Swimming with the Big Fish event.

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At Junior Achievement Finance Park, one student was asked to imagine herself as a single mother raising a two-year-old child.

As she worked through the budgeting simulation, she was careful about how much she allocated toward each household expense. Eventually, her volunteer discovered why she was saving so much money.

She wanted to buy a Porsche.

When the program repeatedly denied her vehicle selection, she became frustrated. She had enough money, so why could she not choose the car she wanted?

Her volunteer explained that the decision involved more than the price. As the parent of a young child, she also needed to consider what kind of vehicle would work for the family she had been assigned.

The moment was funny, but the lesson was real. Financial choices are shaped by responsibilities, priorities, and the lives people are building around them.

Junior Achievement of Nevada gives students the opportunity to work through decisions like these before the stakes become real. In an encouraging environment, they can test their choices, ask questions, reconsider their assumptions, and see how one decision affects everything around it.

Those experiences give students more than an answer to a classroom exercise. They help young people approach future decisions with greater confidence, curiosity, and an understanding of what those choices may require.

Real-World Lessons Before the Stakes Are Real

Junior Achievement of Nevada empowers young people to take ownership of their economic success through hands-on learning experiences in financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship.

The organization brings real-world learning into classrooms by connecting students with volunteers from the business community. These volunteers help young people understand how the concepts they learn in school relate to the choices and opportunities they may encounter later in life.

For a kindergartner, that may begin with learning the difference between a need and a want. An older student may develop a business plan, explore possible careers, practice workplace skills, or manage the competing demands of a household budget.

The lessons change as students grow, but the purpose remains consistent. Junior Achievement helps young people understand that their future is something they can begin preparing for now.

As Katherine Vandertulip, Vice President of Development and Marketing at Junior Achievement of Nevada, shared,

“Our programs equip students with the knowledge, confidence, and skills they need to succeed.”

That mission made Junior Achievement of Nevada a natural fit for Endowment Partners’ Monthly Nonprofit Spotlight series. The series was created to bring more attention to nonprofit organizations undertaking meaningful work in the communities they serve and to give their stories the space they deserve.

Junior Achievement’s story begins in the classroom, but the skills students develop can follow them through many of the decisions that come after it.

Preparing Students for a Changing Economy

Many adults remember Junior Achievement from their own time in school. What they may not realize is how much the curriculum has evolved alongside the economy.

Students today are preparing for jobs shaped by rapidly changing technology and industries that continue to evolve. Some of the careers they eventually pursue may not even exist yet. School provides an important academic foundation, but students also need time to practice communicating clearly, solving problems, making financial decisions, and understanding what will be expected of them in the workplace.

Junior Achievement helps create those opportunities.

“We are preparing students for careers that may not even exist yet while helping them build financial confidence and an entrepreneurial mindset.” Katherine Vandertulip

That preparation matters for every student, regardless of where they live or what their background may be. Financial literacy and career readiness influence nearly every part of adult life, from choosing a career path and evaluating job opportunities to managing income and recovering from an unexpected expense.

The earlier students can begin developing these skills, the more time they have to build confidence around them.

Nevada employers consistently identify communication, critical thinking, financial literacy, and workplace readiness as important skills. Yet many students have limited opportunities to practice them before they are expected to enter college, pursue training, or begin working.

Junior Achievement helps bridge that gap by connecting classroom learning with real-world decisions.

“When students can envision a successful future, entire communities benefit.” Katherine Vandertulip

A cheerful group of young students engage in an exciting broadcast experience.

One Nevada, More Opportunity

One of Junior Achievement’s largest current priorities is expanding access across the state.

Junior Achievement’s Northern and Southern Nevada organizations recently came together to form Junior Achievement of Nevada.

Michelle Jackson, President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Nevada, described the unification as an opportunity to strengthen the organization’s reach across the state.

“This is an exciting moment for Junior Achievement in our state. By bringing Northern and Southern Nevada together as one organization, we can amplify our impact, expand opportunities for students and deepen our ability to prepare young people for success. This alignment allows us to combine our strengths and focus on innovation, growth and statewide collaboration.”

Working as one statewide organization allows Junior Achievement to share resources, strengthen partnerships, and create more opportunities for students throughout Nevada while maintaining the local relationships that make its programs possible.

The unification also moves the organization closer to a central goal: making financial education, career exploration, and entrepreneurship programs available to students throughout Nevada.

“My hope is that every student in Nevada has access to Junior Achievement programs, regardless of where they live.” Katherine Vandertulip

Reaching students across the state will depend on continued relationships with schools, businesses, volunteers, and community supporters. Working as one organization will allow Junior Achievement to coordinate those partnerships and extend its programs into more Nevada communities.

Putting the Lessons Into Practice

Junior Achievement is built around participation. Instead of only hearing about budgeting, careers, or business, students are asked to make decisions for themselves and see what happens next.

Betty’s Junior Achievement BizTown gives elementary students the chance to step into a working community after completing lessons in the classroom. They take on jobs, help operate businesses, earn and spend money, and learn how workers, consumers, and citizens contribute to a community.

Junior Achievement Finance Park carries those ideas into a simulated adult life. Older students receive an income and household scenario, then build a budget around expenses such as housing, transportation, bills, and family needs.

That is what made the student’s Porsche decision so memorable.

She was not simply being told that budgeting requires trade-offs. She experienced the frustration of having a financial choice denied and had the opportunity to understand why.

Another student may discover a career they had never considered. Someone else may realize that entrepreneurship is within reach or that a skill they already have could become part of their future work.

These experiences allow students to make choices, meet challenges, and learn from the outcome in a supportive environment.

The lesson becomes something they have practiced rather than information they have simply heard.

Confidence Beyond the Budget

Junior Achievement is often associated with teaching students how to manage money. Financial literacy remains central to the organization’s work, but its impact reaches further.

The programs also help students develop confidence, communication skills, and the ability to work through problems.

“People often think of Junior Achievement as teaching students how to manage money, and while financial literacy is incredibly important, our impact goes much deeper. We help students build confidence, develop problem-solving skills, strengthen communication, and believe in their own potential.” Katherine Vandertulip

That confidence may affect how a student approaches a classroom assignment, a first job interview, a college decision, or an idea they hope to turn into a business.

It can also change the way they see themselves.

When students understand how their education connects to a possible career, the work in front of them can feel more purposeful. A conversation with a volunteer may introduce them to an industry they had never considered, while a budgeting exercise can make the idea of managing a first paycheck feel much less intimidating.

A Seat in the Classroom

One of the most direct ways to support Junior Achievement of Nevada is by volunteering.

No teaching experience is necessary. Junior Achievement provides the training and materials, giving volunteers the guidance they need before entering the classroom.

Volunteers help turn the curriculum into a conversation. By sharing what they have learned in their own careers and answering students’ questions, they make the material easier to understand and more relevant to life outside the classroom.

These individuals often report finding the experience just as rewarding as the students do.

Those interested in volunteering can contact Volunteer Coordinator Sam Barbour at sam.barbour@ja.org.

A child diligently focuses on paperwork, highlighting his engagement and curiosity.

Upcoming Ways to Support

Junior Achievement of Nevada is also preparing for upcoming fundraising events that help support its programs and create additional opportunities for businesses and community members to get involved.

Swimming with the Big Fish: Northwest Region

Date: September 29, 2026

Ways to Support: Sponsorships, donations, and event participation

Junior Achievement of Nevada’s Northwest Region will host Swimming with the Big Fish on September 29, 2026. The event gives businesses and community members another opportunity to support students through Junior Achievement’s financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship programs.

Support from sponsors, donors, and attendees helps Junior Achievement continue providing hands-on learning experiences to students served by the Northwest Region.

It is an opportunity for the community to come together in support of young people while helping expand access to programs that prepare students for the decisions ahead.

Learn More About Northwest Region’s Swimming with the Big Fish

JA Day Uncorked

Date: October 10, 2026

Ways to Support: Sponsorships, auction donations, and volunteer opportunities

Junior Achievement of Nevada will host JA Day Uncorked on October 10, 2026. The event will bring businesses and community members together in support of the organization’s financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship programs.

Guests and community partners can participate through sponsorships, auction donations, and volunteer support. Funds raised will help Junior Achievement bring hands-on learning experiences to more students across Nevada.

It is an opportunity to enjoy an engaging community event while helping young people build the skills and confidence they will carry into school, work, and adulthood.

Learn More About JA Day Uncorked

Swimming with the Big Fish

Date: April 23, 2027

Ways to Support: Sponsorships, auction donations, and volunteer opportunities

Swimming with the Big Fish will return on April 23, 2027, giving businesses and community members another way to support Junior Achievement of Nevada.

Sponsors, donors, and volunteers help make the event possible while providing important funding for classroom programs throughout the state. That support allows students to participate in hands-on experiences that introduce them to financial decision-making, career possibilities, and entrepreneurship.

The event offers a meaningful way for Nevada’s business community to invest directly in the students who will one day enter its workforce and help shape its future.

Learn More About Swimming with the Big Fish

A mentor guides a young trainee through hands-on electrical work in a practical workshop.

Giving Every Student a Stronger Start

Junior Achievement of Nevada is preparing young people for a future that continues to change.

Students will encounter new industries, unfamiliar technology, financial responsibilities, and career decisions that may be difficult to predict today. The ability to communicate clearly, think critically, manage money, and adapt to change will remain valuable wherever their paths lead.

Junior Achievement gives them the opportunity to begin practicing those skills now.

“Every young person deserves the opportunity to discover their strengths, explore career possibilities, understand financial responsibility, and build confidence in their future.” Katherine Vandertulip

As the statewide organization continues to grow, Junior Achievement hopes to deepen its relationships with schools, businesses, and communities so more Nevada students can access those opportunities.

For Endowment Partners, Junior Achievement of Nevada demonstrates the real value of investing in young people before they enter the workforce or begin making major financial decisions on their own.

A lesson might begin with a simulated budget, a conversation with a volunteer, or an introduction to a career the student had never considered.

What stays with each student will be different. It may be a practical skill, a new goal, or simply the confidence to ask better questions when the real decision arrives. 

Years from now, the student at Junior Achievement Finance Park may not remember every number in her simulated budget.

She will probably remember the Porsche.

More importantly, she may remember the moment she learned to look beyond what she wanted in front of her and consider the life she was preparing to support. That is the kind of lesson Junior Achievement of Nevada is helping students carry into the decisions that come next.

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