Ulises Hernandez knows all about personal finance.
He can explain why you need assets and liabilities.
He even knows how to budget his money to cover his rent and other living expenses and still have money left over for savings and fun.
Ulises is a sixth grader at Fort Worth ISD’s Applied Learning Academy. He was one of three Fort Worth students who spoke about his experiences with Junior Achievement of the Chisholm Trail at the organization’s recent annual breakfast. The nonprofit teaches students financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship.
“We learned about finances by playing Monopoly,” Ulises said. “The point of that was to figure out the difference between an asset and a liability, so we figured out what to sell to make money and what to keep to raise money.”
The ballroom on the second floor of the Omni Fort Worth Hotel filled with murmurs.
“This is the sound of adults saying, ‘Whaaaaaat,’” Kathleen Barbee, vice president of Junior Achievement of the Chisholm Trail, said to laughs.
Ava Berg, a fifth grader at Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD’s Hatley Elementary, recently learned about entrepreneurship. Afterward, Ava and a friend sat down and came up with a plan.
They want to start a groomer business, either for puppies or horses — Ava wasn’t too sure just yet.
However, Ava knew the steps she needed to take first.
“To get everything we need, we’re going to have to start with a little business. So we’re going to start a lemonade stand to get enough money,” Ava said.
Bianca Lopez learned about the career paths in front of her — an important lesson as she has a major decision to make soon.
She has to decide which high school to attend once she completes the eighth grade at the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Middle School in Fort Worth ISD.
She also is deliberating over her career path.
At 13.
Bianca is still deciding, but Junior Achievement-sponsored field trips to Ben E. Keith and Autobahn helped her better understand the paths in front of her.
“I learned what I don’t want to do because, yes, the field trips were fun and interesting, but I just realized that’s not the line of work I want to do. It showed me what my true interests were,” Bianca said, adding she loved sitting inside of expensive luxury cars.
The trio learned other important life lessons through Junior Achievement.
Ulises learned about time management. With quick glances at his watch, he even kept track of time as he spoke during the breakfast.
“If you can’t manage your time, if you don’t finish your job fast enough, then they’ll just send someone else to do your job,” he said.
Ava picked up useful hard skills, but she learned she will also need to know how to use soft skills to succeed in her future career.
“You have to have soft skills. You can have hard skills, and if you don’t know how to work with other people, they might kick you out,” Ava said to laughs.
“I’m being honest,” she said, grinning.
Bianca learned the value and importance of communication and how to change up your style so you can listen to others.
“There’s different ways of communication with people. You can’t talk to one person like you would talk to the other,” Bianca said.
Bianca encouraged students to explore different careers.
“Get to experience it yourself,” she said. “Especially when you want to get a Porsche.”
Disclosure: Autobahn has been a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @_jacob_sanchez.
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