LANDOVER, Md.—Nearly 9,000 middle school students have learned lessons this year that will help them finance cars and balance their budgets later in life, thanks to an educational branch of PenFed Credit Union at Maryland’s first Junior Achievement Finance Park.
“Someday these middle school students will run our businesses and change our world,” PenFed Credit Union President and CEO James Schenck told the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington during a luncheon celebrating the first year of the JA Finance Park in Prince George’s County. “But first, these students are learning valuable life skills right here.”
According to PenFed, as the students enter the doors of JA Finance Park, they leave behind their lives as middle school students and assume an adult financial identity: an avatar with a career, salary, credit score, debt, family, and financial obligations. On tablet computers, led by volunteer role models from the community, students make their way through various life stages, adjusting their budgets for unexpected events.
PenFed Credit Union said the educational branch empowers each student to decide how to finance a car within a budget. “As in real life, each choice a student makes—the type of car, the options, and the terms of the loan—will have an impact on their bottom line,” the credit union said. “But instead of waiting until the end of the month to discover whether they can make ends meet, students at JA Finance Park figure it out by the end of the day.”
“These students are learning to be financially capable, tenacious, and creative problem solvers; they are learning to manage risks and become ready for success,” said Schenck. “As one of America’s leading providers of financial services, PenFed understands that preparing the next generation of consumers will support our nation’s future economy.”
“JA Finance Park is about inspiring a generation of Prince George’s County youth, giving them the ability to make the right financial choices,” said Ed Grenier, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington. “It’s about giving them a new perspective on why staying in school and setting career goals is vital to achieving their dreams.”
Below, Ed Grenier (left), president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, and James Schenck (far right), president and CEO of PenFed Credit Union, meet with JA staff at PenFed’s educational branch inside JA Finance Park of Prince George’s County.