Eighth graders at Great Bend Middle School spent Thursday at Reality U, the program that has them paying bills and dealing with household emergencies in a simulation of life a few years after high school.
The program is sponsored by United Way of Central Kansas and supported by volunteers from local businesses and agencies. The gym was set up to simulate the students’ future lives, when they are 26 years old and have jobs and bills to pay. Their careers, marital status and number of children were based on pre-simulation surveys and their current grade-point-average, so those with better grades started with better-paying jobs, but also with student loans.
Patrick Sehl, Reality U director from the Pando Initiative in Wichita, has come to Barton County for several years. This year, in light of how much things cost, he’s updated the pay range for each of the 100 careers at Reality U, and also the cost of items at every single booth. For the simulation, students must visit 12 booths where they pay for insurance, the car of their choice, a phone and entertainment, etc. Their scorecard resembles a checkbook, and the balance cannot fall below zero – even if there’s an unexpected bill such as a trip to the emergency room.
Sehl and the volunteers talk to the eighth graders at the close of the simulation. He asked which expense surprised them the most. For many it was child care. “It costs a lot,” one student said.
“How many of you thought, by show of hands, that child care was way too expensive?” Sehl asked. Most of the students raised their hands. “How many of you now realize you are the expensive kid?”
One thing Sehl always wants to know is what the students will tell their parents or guardians about the experience when they get home. He’s always pleased when students say they’ll say, “thank you.”
“Learning to say thank you is an incredible thing,” Sehl said. “An attitude of gratitude pays off when you’re older. Most of these volunteers would tell me if you have a good attitude, they could hire you.”
Students were challenged to think about what they need to do today to prepare for the day Reality U becomes real life.
“When you figure out how to motivate yourself to learn, you’ll be unstoppable,” Sehl said.
The volunteers were also asked to share their thoughts with the students. Dave Storjohann, general manager at Arby’s restaurant, advised them to “pick something that you’re passionate about.”
This was Storjohann’s second time helping with Reality U. He agreed that attitude is important when applying for a job, as are confidence and understanding the job.
Breakout sessions
Charell Owings, executive director of United Way of Central Kansas, said students attended breakout sessions when they weren’t doing the Reality U simulation. UWCK helps bring Reality U to Great Bend each year.
“We dive really deep into some of those topics,” Owings said. These included a look at the cost of delinquency, presented by Casey Rowland with Juvenile Services; a representative from the admissions office at Barton Community College; Great Bend High School Counselor Rachel Thexton, talking about how to choose classes and extra-curricular activities in high school; Tyler Morton from Juvenile Services talking about Youth Crew; and Jennifer Hopkins, who teachers Jobs for Americas Graduates at Great Bend High School, joined by three JAG students, Ashley Reddig, Madison Carter and Katie Kuhlman.
Reddig and Carter represented JAG-Kansas at nationals in May, where Reddig placed second in employability skills and Carter placed in the top 10 in public speaking. For Thursday’s program, they talked about JAG – which is now offered at the middle school level as well as high school – and how to prepare for a job interview. Carter’s number one tip for someone applying for a job: Do your research. Know something about the business and the job before walking through the door.
