RIT Partners with Junior Achievement and Rochester City School District

The College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology, Junior Achievement of Rochester, and the Rochester City School District are teaming up to educate school children about business, economics and free enterprise.

As the first initiative of its kind in the Greater Rochester area, students and alumni from the College of Business will lead Junior Achievement classes at Kodak Park School No. 41 on Friday, March 24. RIT alumni, representing Rochester-area companies and careers, will pair with students majoring in like fields, such as accounting, finance, international business, management information systems, and marketing.

“Each year our students undertake different service projects in the community,” explains Wayne Morse, RIT’s College of Business interim dean. “There is a natural tie-in between Junior Achievement and the College of Business. While their mission is to introduce economic concepts and potential careers to young people, ours is to educate and develop future business leaders.”

Ten different classes of students in grades four, five and six at School No. 41 will participate in the program. Throughout the day, RIT students and alumni will facilitate five hands-on lessons that vary by grade level. Among other activities, the school children will discover the skills workers need for specific jobs, determine how businesses use natural, human and capital resources from different regions, and experience contrasting methods of production through role-play.

“Junior Achievement teaches the sound financial concepts that all members of our society need to be successful participants in our economy,” says Susan Adsit, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Rochester. “We also demonstrate the connection between learning and earning. By introducing the two role models of a College of Business student and a working member of the community in the same classroom, we are showing the value of staying in school, workplace alternatives, and the importance of contributing to the community.”

RIT’s College of Business is recognized nationally as a leading provider of career-oriented business education, offering undergraduate and graduate level programs in accounting, finance, international business, management, management information systems, marketing and graphic media marketing. Fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), RIT’s College of Business has been cited by U.S. News and World Report as ranking among the top four percent of undergraduate business programs in the country.