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As a kid, I remember having volunteers from Junior Achievement come into my classroom and teach me about selling pencils for a profit. Years later as a business student at the University of Texas at El Paso, I was an active member of Junior Achievement. I had a wonderful time teaching elementary kids about the same basic business principles and serving as a role model in a city that is over 70% Hispanic.

Fast forward to today, I recently made a great online (Twitter) friend in Amy Boroff, the Development Director for Junior Achievement of New Jersey. Tomorrow, Amy and her New Jersey Junior Achievement team along with the New Jersey chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA), and NJ corporate employee resource groups, are putting on the The Latino Professional JA Community Day.  Through their efforts, more than 450 predominately Hispanic students at a local elementary school in Newark will receive Junior Achievement’s financial literacy-based programs. 

By increasing the number of Latino volunteer role models, this type of project will directly help to impact students’ attitudes, behavior, and self-efficacy towards work readiness, post-secondary educational opportunities, financial literacy and future careers. Representatives of organizations such as Prudential, Ernst & Young, Wachovia, BASF, and many others will participate in the event.

I’ve written many times about organizations that “get it” and make an impact in helping develop the Hispanic workforce. Amy and her team, as well as all the organizations involved, deserve a lot of credit and kudos for their efforts. Activities like these made an impact on me at a very young age. So THANKS for your efforts from this JA program alumnus and now professor of management.

Thank you so very much!