Regional eighth graders participate in JA Day

June 2, 2022

Seventy-six eighth-graders from Colman-Egan, Chester, Rutland, and Oldham-Ramona schools participated in Junior Achievement (JA) Day at Dakota State this spring.

Junior Achievement is an organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed.

Seven DSU students and six staff and faculty volunteered to help teach the one-day program, according to Dr. Wendy Simmermon, Instructor in the College of Business and Information Systems (BIS).

The day followed the Junior Achievement programming JA It’s My Business!^® Blended Model. Students learned how to turn an idea into a business.

The event enables DSU’s College of BIS “to expose middle school students to the entrepreneurship concepts,” Simmermon said. “It also introduces them to Dakota State University.”

The students participated in six sessions that had objectives relating to the topic of entrepreneurship, Simmermon said. By the end of the day, they pitched their ideas for a product or service.

The event was sponsored through a grant from Sioux Valley Energy and the following businesses; Shipwreck Bar and Grill, Landis Ag Sales Inc., LakeCo Crop Services Inc., Kibble Equipment – John Deere, First Madison Insurance, Mustang Seeds, and Colman Building Center.

Simmermon is forming a JA at DSU board to plan future JA Days at Dakota State.