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Students work together to open the Parts and Service Shop in Young AmeriTowne.
Hands-on, real-life experience is the foundation for all learning that takes place at Young Americans Center for Financial Education. A job at the Schomp Automotive Parts and Service Shop at Young AmeriTowne means that students learn about their role in a town’s economy while repairing a real car.
All students in AmeriTowne are employees. Each shop requires at least three students in order to function effectively. In addition to a Manager and Accountant, students assume such roles as Cashiers, Technicians, Doctors, and, in the Schomp Parts and Service Shop, Mechanics.
Throughout the day, Mechanics make repairs on vehicles from 11 of the Towne shops. All the work is done at the Parts and Service Shop, where Schomp Automotive has outfitted a real car with kid-friendly maintenance activities. After diagnosing the vehicle’s error code, student employees replace spark plugs, inspect the brakes, top-off the oil, check the tire pressure, and more.
Pre-existing notions about what jobs are “most important” disappear as students quickly learn that each role is important to a successful economy in Young AmeriTowne. Although they earn a larger paycheck, $30 instead of $25, Managers can’t run their shops without their workers. Students wouldn’t have a way to deposit their paycheck and receive money to spend in Towne without Bank Tellers. And if there were no Mechanics, the Warehouse wouldn’t be able to deliver the products sold in each shop.
Schomp Automotive has been vital in creating an AmeriTowne shop that’s engaging, fun, and as “real” as it gets!
