OSU student connects university to Junior Achievement

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Thanks to an Oklahoma State University senior, Stillwater Public Schools will have Junior Achievement programs for the first time in over 10 years.

Jack Hedrick, a career and technical education senior at OSU and native of Canadian, Oklahoma, will help secure funding and volunteers before May 30 to teach more than 2,000 students there. Last fall, 14 students, staff and faculty at OSU volunteered more than 120 hours to reach 329 kids in Stillwater, according to Joyce Montgomery, coordinator of the OSU Service-Learning Center.

Junior Achievement, launched in 1919, is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12.

JA offers educational programs focusing on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. In Oklahoma alone, more than 35,000 students are taught JA programs.

Hedrick, who serves as district manager for Junior Achievement of Eastern Oklahoma, is establishing a local advisory board, securing more than 70 classroom volunteers, and securing funding for the development and sustainability of a local JA office in Stillwater.