Alumni
Please go to the "Share your stories" section, tell us your favorite JA experience and we will post your story.
This is a great Alumni story posted by Jeff Tate, a JA Alumnus
I can trace much of who I am to an experience I had during my final year of high school. In order to fulfill a final graduation requirement, I enrolled in an economics class. I did not realize it at the time, but in retrospect, I see that that was the most influential class of my high school experience. The focus of the course was our involvement in a program called "Junior Achievement." Through this program, we created and ran a student business that we called "Adidao." A manager of a local bookstore volunteered to help us and he met with us weekly to discuss our progress and goals. After an application and interview process, he selected me to be the company president. We designed, produced, and marketed hats and shirts to our fellow students. This experience taught me many valuable lessons. I gained a love for business, I learned the importance of community service, and I developed critical leadership skills.
First, I gained a love for business. Prior to that class, I pictured business as dry, calculating, and boring. Through my experience, I discovered that business is vibrant, dynamic, and exciting. As I became involved in the process of taking a product from the market research stage to the final sale to the end consumer, I fell in love with business. Upon entrance to college, I immediately took the business prerequisites and studied accounting for my bachelor's degree. I have since specialized in tax while pursuing my master's degree. By the time I begin law school, I will have completed all of the requirements for the state of Utah to become a certified public accountant (CPA). I plan to become a tax lawyer. My experience in that class shaped my educational and professional goals and gave me a vision of how I can best fit into society.
Second, my experience taught me the importance of service. As part of our class, our teacher challenged us to undertake a service project as a company. After discussing potential needs, we became aware of a family who could use our help. The father had passed away during the year and the mother was terminally ill. We coordinated a large-scale effort to provide a Christmas for this family. In addition to gathering several items of clothing, toys, and food, we raised enough money for the family to buy a computer for the children to do their schoolwork. The highlight of the entire semester was when I delivered the items to the mother. I discovered that through service to others, we gain great joy and satisfaction, in addition to making the world a better place for those around us. That class showed me the power of service.
Finally, I learned leadership skills while service as the company president. I quickly learned the importance of effective delegation. At first, I tried to "micromanage" every aspect of the business. I quickly realized that this was not effective. I also learned the importance of taking responsibility. Ultimately, as president of the company, the success or failure of the company depended on me. I realized that I had to work harder, more enthusiastically, and with more dedication than any other team member did if I expected them to follow my direction. These skills continue to help me. I found them particularly useful while serving an ecclesiastical mission for my church for two years in Brazil. While there, I led both small and large groups of missionaries from the United States and Brazil. I also managed all of the housing and finances of the mission (200 missionaries) for over eight months. I found these leadership skills were critical to my success in influencing, motivating, and leading others.
Truly, my experience with "Adidao" changed my life. It introduced me to the vibrant world of business, it taught me the power of community service, and it helped me to develop important leadership skills and attributes. These lessons will continue to help me throughout my law school experience. I hope to learn many more of such lessons over the next three years.
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