VOL. XVI, NO. 7

Junior Achievement Week was observed from January 28 through February 1. To honor it, all the J.A. centers in the Chicago metropolitan area held open houses for people interested in how the private enterprise system works.

At the open houses people had a chance to talk with the company advisers, see how J.A. products are made, and even buy some of the items.

"Families, friends, teachers, and business associates of the people involved had the perfect opportunity to find out what J.A. is all about," said Mr. Ralph Horwath, director of administrative services for J.A.

According to Mr. Horwath, "J.A. is a nationwide business education program for high school students, where under the guidance of volunteer business men and women, students create, capitalize, and operate their own miniature business."

To start a J.A. company, high school students meet weekly in business centers or in-plant locations. There they manufacture and sell the product of their choice. Everything from the bookkeeping to the actual selling of the product is done by the students. Volunteers from regular companies often guide them in the fundamentals of the business.

To earn money, students sell stock to neighbors, friends, and relatives. Then, as salespeople, they sell their product for a small profit. From this they pay themselves mini‑wages.

Becoming rich is not the main purpose for J.A. as Steve Hoepfner '77, vice‑president of sales of one of the Northwest J.A. centers, said. "People don't go there for the money. If they did, it wouldn't last too long."

Instead, they go for the first hand knowledge of business life. This taste of the business world can help them decide if they really want to go into this field. Leadership, competition, responsibility, and organization are valuable traits experienced in J.A. Students learn how to deal with many types of people and become more efficient and reliable.