On Friday, November 21, around 350 eighth graders from Knox and Henderson Counties will be at Carl Sandburg College to participate in the Welcome to the Real World program. This program will give youth the opportunity to explore potential careers as well as participate in a real-world financial literacy simulation, shares Extension 4-H Youth Development Educator Shelby Carlson.
“With the ROE 33 Delabar CTE system and my team at University of Illinois Extension, we put on the formal Welcome to the Real World financial literacy simulation. These young people spend a couple of hours pretending they’re surviving a month in the real world. They’re paying their bills, they’re understanding how far a paycheck goes—they’re really facing some of the challenges that we know adults face every day,” Carlson explains. “It’s about empowering them to have discussions, to understand the importance of budgeting, and to recognize that while we absolutely want young people to explore careers that align with their interests, we also want them to consider whether that career will support the lifestyle they want.”
In addition to the simulation, Sandburg will host a career fair for the students to explore potential career paths.
