Junior Achievement (JA) of Oklahoma students have been invited to The JA Company of the Year national championships at the Junior Achievement National Student Leadership Summit at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. 

The students will spend five days, July 30 – August 3, in the nation’s capital, meeting and competing with other students from across the United States.  

Local students represent Union High School and comprise the business,  Simply Charming, which is one of only 15 teams invited to attend the national event after months of rigorous competition in the JA Company Program®.  Local students attending are Becca Thompson and Lauren Rutherford. Jenny Kwun and Rachael Davis are also part of the company but not attending the competition.“Simply Charming delivers leather charm bracelets that are made with love. With a wide variety of charms and locally bought leather, our product inspires creativity, allowing consumers to be their own artists. Two wrap and three wrap bracelets are our specialty.” – As stated in the Simply Charming Annual Report

Union teacher Mrs. Christy Johnson and their JA volunteer for the 3rd straight year is Mrs. Janae Castell, Senior Valuation Analyst for Curzon, Cumbey, & Kunkel.   In the JA Company Program, students start a real business, and create and market products under the mentorship of a volunteer from the local business community.  At the JA Company of the Year competition, presented by FedEx and NYSE, teams must make a commercial about their student company, make a presentation to a judging panel and compete in a trade fair on Capitol Hill.

Becca Thompson said, “My JA company colleagues and I are thrilled to represent Junior Achievement of Oklahoma at the national finals. We look forward to meeting other JA students from all over the country and learning from them during the competition.”

Students attending the “Summit” will also participate in the JA Social Innovation Intensive presented by AT&T.  Through a series of hands-on workshops, students learn teamwork and leadership skills while developing feasible business solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.

Collectively, these activities result in awards in five categories, given at the culminating Gala Awards Dinner at the US Chamber of Commerce, Hall of Flags.  Much of the days’ other activities will take place on the campus of George Washington University, including informal social events.

Junior Achievement inspires Oklahoma students K-12 by bringing the business world to life inside the classroom through memorable, exciting, hands-on learning experiences.  Established locally in 1966, JAOK serves more than 40,000 Oklahoma students in 55 school districts and 266 schools. Junior Achievement utilizes more than 2,000 dedicated members of the community to implement their programs.  Globally, Junior Achievement is the leader in financial literacy programs positively impacting more than 9.8 million students. To learn more about how you can support Junior Achievement of Oklahoma or to volunteer in a classroom, visit www.jaok.org or call 918.663.2150.  Connect with us on Facebook at Junior Achievement Oklahoma.