by Richard McDowell

When Michelle Nelson-Hawkins looks at students, be they kindergartners or high school seniors, she sees the future entrepreneurs and leaders of the community.

As the Columbus executive director of Junior Achievement of Georgia, she applies all of her energies to making sure the students get every chance to excel. Last year, as a staff of one, she reached nearly 2,000 youth. This year with Tsitsi Johnson on board as the education manager for Junior Achievement, she plans to touch 4,500 youth, using 150 volunteers who will donate 2,000 hours to the program.

Brian Rutledge, a certified
public accountant from
Robinson, Grimes &
Company, presents
choices to eighth graders
at Blackmon Elementary
School that can make
them millionaires, or not.

Although Junior Achievement was a major player in Columbus in years past with such notable alumni as James Blanchard of Synovus, Helen Johnson of Columbus Bank and Trust and Debbie Seeley-Dicks of Columbus Office Products, Junior Achievement languished until 2004 when a group of business leaders led by Skip Seda got it back up and running, bringing in Nelson-Hawkins as the executive director.

Formerly the regional project manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, she understood the need for young people to be literate in business and finance and also knew that it was never too early to start.

While children in the lower grades are learning about themselves, their families and their communities, those in the middle grades of elementary school are already learning what it is to balance checkbooks and plan for careers in the business world, while high school students delve into business ethics and problem solving.

Todd Donmoyer of Eastman Kodak got involved because he has triplet girls attending third grade at Midland Academy, and he wanted to get more involved in their schoolwork. He is teaching the standard “Our City” track developed by Junior Achievement. “We just finished talking about zoning, and next week, I’ll introduce them to the roll of the city planner. The curriculum allows me to tailor it to what’s happening in our community. You’d be surprised at how well they grasp the concepts,” he said.

He reports that the children seem to love the program and are always glad to see him. “I feel like a rock star when I go into a classroom,” Donmoyer said. He got the ultimate complement from one of his daughters. According to her, “I wasn’t as bad as she thought I’d be,” he said.

He plans to continue teaching the Junior Achievement curriculum and says he’ll be at the fourth grade level next year—there will be no escape from him for his daughters. “It’s very rewarding to be teaching these kids and watching them learn,” he said.

Monica Sparks, a counselor at Dawson Elementary School, said there are Junior Achievement volunteers in all of the classes. Most of the volunteers come from Goody Products and Columbus State University’s Phi Beta Lambda Business Club.

She said this was the second year in the program for Dawson. “We initially thought it would be a great thing for the students, but it developed into much more than expected,” she said. She did admit that at first the teachers were saying, “Well this is just one more thing we have to do,” but now the teachers rave about it and the students love it, “they talk about it all the time.”

She said what’s great about the program is that each class is tailored for each academic level. “And what really makes it special is the kids go home and share it with their families. It truly is a win-win situation,” she added.

Annie Condra is the human resources officer for Goody Products. According to Condra, Goody Products, which is part of Newell Rubbermaid, has always looked for opportunities to get involved in the community. And David Klatt, president of Goody Products, is a board member of Georgia Junior Achievement, so when the opportunity to get involved in Junior Achievement in Columbus came up, he signed on.

Twelve Goody employees cover grades kindergarten to fifth at Dawson Elementary School. “Our employees love it,” Condra said, “They are amazed at how sharp the kids are and how fast they pick up on the different subjects.” The emphasis at the kindergarten level is reading stories. “The volunteers always refer back to the previous week, but the kids always know who the different characters are.”

She said the kindergartners are learning about family and the children become very affectionate and want to hold hands. “One of our employees ended a session by asking for a group hug. She came back saying she’d been mauled at the knees.”

La Fini Mosby, an Urban League
counselor, talks fifth grade
students from J.D. Davis and
Muscogee Elementary Schools
through the steps needed to start
up a business.

Brian Rutledge is a certified public accountant for Robinson, Grimes & Company. He says the Georgia Society for CPAs is involved in Junior Achievement because they recognize the need to educate youth about finances, and Junior Achievement does just that.

He’s giving a class to eighth graders at Blackmon Elementary School, demonstrating to the students what choices they have: “Should I go to college?” “Should I invest in the stock market?” “What stocks or mutual funds should I invest in?” “Are all credit cards alike?” “Should I start saving now or wait until I have more of what I need?”

From there he shows them the consequences of their actions. If they get good grades in school, go to college, get the right job, save their money, invest wisely, then they can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. But if they get Fs in school, don’t apply themselves, squander what little money they do earn and over extend themselves on credit cards, then they’ll be traveling a bumpy road.

He gets the attention of Katie Pollock and Chelsea Lawrence, who say they’d never thought of such things before. For Rutledge, “getting to interact with the kids is a real reward.”

LaRae Snipes, the classroom teacher, says these classes help the students start thinking about getting a higher education and what jobs will be available to them. “The kids love it; they become excited about education, jobs and salary,” she said.

At the Urban League building, it’s 5:30 p.m. La Fini Mosby is teaching a Junior Achievement class to fifth graders from J.D. Davis and Muscogee Elementary Schools in an after-school program. She’s got them talking about what kind of businesses they might want to start. They discuss start-up costs, what kind of equipment they’ll need, the training for the employees and costs of doing business, such as advertising.

For Aleighia Wheeler of Muscogee Elementary, she sees savings as the path to owning a business. “If you don’t need the money, don’t take it out.”

Wylisa Doggins of J.D. Davis agrees. “You should only take money out of the bank when you need it.”

Nelson-Hawkins glows when she looks at the success of the programs. She’s currently gearing up for Ground Hog Job Shadow Day on February 2 and is looking for businesses that will take students in and show them the ropes.

“We’ll match student interest with the business,” she said. She also said that while February 2 is the national job shadow day, she can arrange for students to visit businesses any day in the year. “We want to expose them to the business and expose the business leader to these kids. “Who knows, one day they may be working for you, or (pausing) you may be working for them.”

To learn more about Junior Achievement, become a volunteer or get your business involved, call the Columbus District Office at 706-568-1368 or visit the Georgia Junior Achievement website: http://georgia.ja.org/.