The high school JAG-K team competed in the state tournament this week with the creative decision-making team earning fifth place.
JAG-K, Jobs for America’s Graduates Kansas, offers class electives for students to prepare for success after high school. Students compete in project-based learning, creative decision making, career preparation, financial budgeting and prepared speaking.
Junior Neo Allison, sophomore Kash Coffin and sophomore Micah Baumann were on the creative decision-making team. They had 30 minutes to solve a realistic problem before presenting to three judges over eight minutes.
“The hardest part about the competition is thinking on your feet for sure,” Coffin said.
The team needed to determine how Wichita should hypothetically allocate taxes.
“We spent 60% of that money towards property tax relief, and then we spent 40% of that money to homeless housing and housing construction,” Allison said.
Allison was also awarded JAG-K state senator. He will go to several leadership development conferences, including one in Washington, D.C., in November, to represent Eudora.
“I like it because it’s like working with a team because I get to work with the rest of the state officers and help JAG on a bigger level than just regional,” Allison said.
He won regional president at the Region 3 conference in February.
Allison and Coffin have both been involved in JAG-K since their freshman year and plan to continue through high school. Coffin was awarded regional secretary and is excited to be a leader.
“I’m gonna be state president next year,” Coffin said.
Sophomore Brenley Hanson was among one of three competitors to win digital outstanding chapter book at the regional competition. She designed 43 pages that outline all of the activities the team participated in this year from guest speakers to college visits.
“I’m really proud that I can represent us in a good manner and, like, all the accomplishments and things that we’ve been doing in our community,” Hanson said.
The team practices impromptu prompts, public speaking, networking, mock interviews with the Kansas Workforce Center and financial literacy, said their adviser Dana Chance, a career specialist.
This not only supports success in competitions but teaches students about professionalism.
“Getting them to understand what their strengths are, what their interests are, maybe applying that to some sort of future goal once they graduate high school,” Chance said. “We do a lot of financial literacy, so they understand budgeting. They understand what 401(k)s are, just anything to help them be successful after they graduate.”
The JAG-K classroom is intentional and only has 15 students, Chance said. The group becomes like a family.
“I think being in JAG exposes students to opportunities outside of their own small community, and they start to realize the opportunities that exist out in the world that they might not otherwise be exposed to,” Chance said.
From his participation in JAG-K, Allison is interested in further understanding community perspectives on issues.
“It definitely helps me way more finding out what I want to do in the future, and how to get there especially. And it’s taught me a lot of real-world problems and solutions and what could actually pop up in the future,” Allison said.
This is Chance’s fourth year leading JAG-K. She has seen several students grow in their participation since their freshman year.
“They recognize that, if they just step outside of their comfort zone, that they can accomplish a lot. And that’s what’s most rewarding for me,” Chance said.
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