As people gathered outside of Las Vegas City Hall, making their way past business storefronts to take their seats in increasingly hushed anticipation, Michelle Jackson, president of Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada (JASN), took the podium to welcome everyone not to downtown Las Vegas, but to the grand opening of the JA Inspiration Center at 4400 E Tropicana Ave. in East Las Vegas.
The City Hall? A replica. And the storefronts? All community partners whose support helped make this grand vision a striking reality, including Nevada State Bank, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Caesars Entertainment, UNLV, The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, United Healthcare, and many more
“We’re so excited to welcome schools and the community into the JA Inspiration Center, our new home and a life-changing, eye-opening educational experience for students,” said Jackson before an audience of invited guests and dignitaries, including Las Vegas Raiders Chief Financial Officer Michael Crome, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, and Nevada State Bank President and CEO Terry Shirey.
The impressively renovated 40,000-square-foot building is now the permanent home of Betty’s JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. These programs equip students with practical skills and knowledge essential for success in their personal and professional lives. Designed in the image of a real city, these facilities allow students to elect a mayor, pay utilities, run businesses, conduct bank transactions, and more, providing lessons in financial literacy, workforce readiness, and entrepreneurship.
“The JA Inspiration Center is a project over a decade in the making,” said JASN Immediate Past Chair Sandi Milton of Nevada State Bank. “Unlike other JA Inspiration Centers, this facility uniquely mirrors the dynamic economy of Las Vegas, providing students with a hands-on learning experience that they can apply within our community.”
Betty’s JA BizTown is designed to inspire younger students to explore career paths they might be interested in pursuing as adults.
“What I have found is that when I talk to people, usually now in their 30s, who did BizTown in another state when they were growing up, 50% of them end up going into the industry they worked at in BizTown,” said Jackson.
JA Finance Park is tailored to older students and intended to provide personal financial skills, including how to build a budget, manage credit, fill out student financial aid forms, and understand investments.
When students visit JA Finance Park, they become adults for a day through a simulation that gives them an age, marital status, children, a job, monthly income, debt, and a credit score. They then take all of this information and create a budget based on their assigned scenario for the month.
“We don’t just want students to live paycheck to paycheck; we want them to learn how to generate wealth, provide for themselves, and live the lifestyle they envision,” said Milton.
“The JA Inspiration Center will have a lasting impact by contributing to the economic success of the entire community by empowering students to become prosperous adults,” said Shirey. “A more financially literate community, exposure to diverse career opportunities, and interactions with professionals across Southern Nevada give our students, particularly those in low-to-moderate income areas, a different way of envisioning their future.”
In the city of neon lights, the new JA Inspiration Center illuminates the future of Southern Nevada’s youth, inspiring and equipping the young adults of tomorrow with the skills to succeed in their ever-growing city and contribute to a vibrant, thriving community.