unior Achievement’s (JA) mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy—but they can’t do it alone. It takes the efforts of a wide range of people, from corporate employees and entrepreneurs to educators and volunteers to provide the kind of education students need to excel in today’s world. Each year, JA of Alaska recognizes the exceptional efforts of an educator and volunteer.

Dr. Clare Fulp, senior director of elementary education for the Anchorage School District’s central region, first became involved with JA as a teacher seventeen years ago. She later served as the principal at schools including Ravenwood Elementary, Chugach Optional, and Mountain View Elementary, where she advocated bringing the JA program to those schools.

“The financial literacy piece of JA is very important to me, so I take any opportunity I can to support Junior Achievement in the schools where I work,” she explains. “In my new position as senior director of elementary education, my impact may be even greater.”

In this new position, which she started July 12, Fulp supports twelve elementary schools and their principals and is responsible for helping to coordinate elementary school activities districtwide.

Though she wasn’t exposed to JA as a child living in Kodiak (which didn’t have the program at the time), Fulp quickly became a supporter while working with Cook Inlet Region Incorporated volunteers who came into her elementary school classrooms. “At first they were our business partner, but later they went from financially supporting JA’s initiatives in our schools to actively helping instill knowledge in our students,” she says.

Because she was born and raised on an island, Fulp understands the importance of contributing to the community. “I think it takes a village to support our schools,” she says. “And when students see business partners in the classroom, they remember it for the rest of their lives.”

JA is important not only because it provides the opportunity to introduce students to financial literacy and different career paths, she believes, but also because it helps to teach students the real-life skills they will need after high school. Fulp notes that, nationwide, there is a big divide over how prepared students are, especially financially, as they enter adulthood.

“A lot of school districts have adopted career and life-readiness pieces because students need those skills,” she says. “Even if they get good jobs, they need to know how to manage their finances—and lives—in order to move ahead.”

She adds that disadvantaged students can especially benefit from these lessons, as they may feel empowered by what they learn to pursue the lives they hope to lead. “JA shows them how different careers can bring rewards in life and how they can prosper,” she says. “And having successful business leaders in the classroom is a big part of that delivery.”

Fulp believes that part of the reason that students are so receptive to the program is that it’s fun as well as educational.

“Any time a school has a day where classrooms are filled with different people from all over Anchorage sharing something different with students, the joy of learning is sparked,” she says. “It creates a kind of buzz around the school and it’s a fun day for everybody. And our business partners get a break from their daily routine to come and help the next generation.”

Erin Byrne, the CFO at Delta Leasing, knows firsthand about the importance of JA. As a Dimond High School student, she took a class at King Career Center (now King Tech High) focusing on entrepreneurship that included visits from JA professionals.

“We had a JA teacher come in periodically, and it was a super fun experience,” she says. “Once I was an adult working in my career, my JA teacher recruited me to help him one day in the classroom, and I’ve tried to volunteer consistently since then.”

Each school year, Byrne volunteers in elementary or middle school classrooms, going over the JA curriculum with students. “The main focus of JA is teaching kids financial literacy, and I try to make it exciting,” says Byrne, who notes that all teaching materials are provided by the organization. “When it’s fun, it’s easier to get the kids engaged.”

Byrne notes that Alaska is the only state where there is no required curriculum providing what JA teaches, including personal finance, budgeting, and the basics of handling finances as an adult.

“For example, I teach 1st and 2nd graders what a loan is and why adults get loans,” she says. “These are concepts that they’ve never learned about. I show kids how people get paid; we used to use paper checks or cash, but now everything is online.”

Byrne also appreciates that JA doesn’t push one path for everyone. “We talk about different examples of people being entrepreneurs and different jobs in the community. Kids don’t have to have a college degree to be good members of the community; there are all types of jobs for all types of people with all different interests,” she says.

Byrne says that students talk about what they’d like to be when they grow up, as well as what they currently like to do. “If a child likes video games or drawing on an iPad, we may talk about how that translates into a career path and how they can earn money from it,” Byrne says.

“It’s not all about money, however,” she adds. “Because we spend so much time at work, it’s important to love what you do and work where you feel appreciated. Money is important, but at the end of the day, you want to be excited to get up in the morning and go to work.”

Byrne has found volunteering to be both fun and beneficial, and she especially appreciates hearing back from the students she teaches.

“I wanted to find somewhere that I could provide a service by sharing my knowledge and expertise with kids, so JA was a great fit for me,” she says. “Also, the feedback from kids is really cool. I’ve gotten thank you cards, and the teachers tell me that the kids ask when Ms. Erin is coming back. They love the games we play.”

If she’s able to connect with just one kid, Byrne considers the time well spent. “It makes me feel good to think that something I’ve taught may help them down the road,” she says.

Byrne also appreciates that her workplace is very supportive of her volunteering and that everyone in her office wants to hear about how her day went when she returns from school.

“Most places are finding it hard to find employees now—for example, there are always job openings in the accounting and finance world—so it makes sense to get kids involved now in learning about the business world and meeting actual business people in the classroom,” she says.

“I talk about what I do at my job and the different jobs and industries in Alaska, hoping that when these kids become young adults, they’ll have an idea of what they want to do,” she adds. “Hopefully, they’ll want to stay in Alaska and not leave and never come back. And that starts with introducing kids to these concepts in elementary school.”