Junior Achievement
student smiling while holding up drawing
Alexis Asi
Drawing a Path Home
A Junior Achievement experience
By Alexis Asi
I

had Junior Achievement (JA) during JA in a Day at Wendler Middle School. I had not had JA before, and I didn’t know what to expect. My volunteer was Bree Brophy Bieber from First Rate Financial. This was the first time an adult other than my mom had talked to me about money.

Our JA volunteer told us that every day they see people buying their dream homes and that we can have any type of house that we want to someday, but that it’s really important to start saving money now and to pay attention to my credit score. They encouraged us to think about ways that we earn money and save money.

At home I don’t receive allowance for chores; that is just part of living in my mom’s house. In the future, I want to have a big house with a big room just for painting, a room for my mom that has a big closet, and a room for my sister. My mom said it is going to take some time before I need my own house, so to practice, she asked me to start saving money so I can buy some new art supplies.

I started thinking of other ways that I can make money, and my aunt told me that artists make the world a better place. I’ve always loved painting and drawing, and I thought I could make a comic book. My aunt took me to the Anchorage Museum, where I saw the comic book exhibition, which was super fun! Then I got very excited when I went to BOSCO’S and saw all the different types of superheroes and comics.
I started thinking of other ways that I can make money, and my aunt told me that artists make the world a better place. I’ve always loved painting and drawing, and I thought I could make a comic book.
That summer, my mom enrolled me in the JA Biz Kids Camp, where I got to develop a pitch for a business and compete to win $100. JA and BOSCO’S inspired me to write my first comic book, and I hope that I can sell them this summer to earn more money. So far I calculated that it costs me about $0.50 to make a comic book, not including my time, and I think I can sell them for $1.50 each either at the Saturday Market or on Etsy. I already had five orders from other campers! I did not win the prize, but I am very happy for the camper who did. The camp counselors told us that there is no crying in business, so I tried my best to smile even if I was a little sad.

The Biz Kids Camp gave me a business to be excited about that I can own. I am excited about this idea, and I can’t wait to buy a big house. I am very grateful to KeyBank for sponsoring JA in a Day at Wendler and also to Junior Achievement for coming to my school.

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