Walmart Mentors Help Rogers Students Plan for Future

ROGERS -- Eighth-graders crunched the numbers for their dream house and car Wednesday during the Mi Futuro program at Birch Kirksey Middle School.

Mentors from the Walmart program focused this month's lesson on finding a balance between the sleek cars and glossy house advertisements they'd clipped and the incomes from the jobs they'd picked.

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Mentoring Program

Mi Futuro is a mentoring program for eighth-grade students provided by volunteers from Walmart and Sam’s Clubs in the United States. Find out more about the Mi Futuro program and curriculum at us.walmartone.com and selecting the “Company & Community” tab, then “Mi Futuro.”

Izaac Haro picked a $1.5 million mansion for his dream home and a career as an aerospace engineer working for NASA. His whole family could live there, Izaac said of the house.

"I figured I would have enough money to have all these things," he said.

This month he was reconsidering after he calculated his payments and living expenses compared to his potential pay. Maybe he'll rent an apartment for a few years when he's starting out and save for a house, Izaac said.

He can build his income over time, mentor Arnold Roudette, Walmart senior business analyst, told him.

Izaac wasn't the only student reconsidering.

"What is credit?" asked one of the girls in mentor Danielle Dye's group. Dye, who works in public affairs at Walmart, talked credit with students, from deposits through foreclosures, as they peppered her with questions. What if they miss a payment? Can't they pay off a car or a house and not worry about it anymore? Dye explained they'd still need insurance.

Roudette's group complained about taxes.

"My parents were all complaining about taxes and I didn't think it was that important until now," Darlene Valiente said.

Ethan Campbell said he understands the need for taxes to pay for schools and roads. The exercise helped him plan out his budget for the future, he said.

"This is career counseling," said Tara Elzer, a counselor at Kirksey, as she pointed around the room on Wednesday.

Eighth grade is a critical time since it comes just before students start high school, she said. Students expect counselors to ask them about future plans, but it means more for them to hear it from business people. Teachers nominated the Kirksey students in the program. The program gives students a connection between school and the real world, and offers role models for students, Elzer said.

On Wednesday, some students re-evaluated their career plans, looking at higher-paying options. Others clung to their ideal job, looking to cut back on their house or car options.

"I want to do a job that I love to do," Darlene said.

She is considering a career in law, but she'd rather be a veterinarian or a teacher.

Her mom told her to pick a career where she didn't live in debt, Kayla Herrera said. She wants to be a criminal defense lawyer and land a $1 million-dollar payment.

"I dream big or I go home," Kayla said.

Dye's group started out wanting to be fashion designers, but that changed as they talked about options.

"Now it's a wake-up call," she said. "I'm happy that they get to learn this early, and they still have four years of high school to figure it out."

The Mi Futuro program is about to grow, said Alicia Martinez, who leads the program as vice chairwoman of Walmart's Hispanic resource group for business support and strategic initiatives. There are 3,000 students in Mi Futuro programs in the United States, 520 of those students are in Northwest Arkansas. The program is expected to grow by 500 groups in the future.

Most of the programs now are grassroots with volunteers finding the program and asking to bring it to their communities. Six years ago the program started at Oakdale Middle School in Rogers with 25 students. It expanded beyond Northwest Arkansas in 2010. Rogers, Bentonville and Springdale all have schools in the program, Martinez said.

"Our goal is to help these students see beyond this year and see beyond high school," she said.

Curriculum for the program starts with cataloging interests. The budgeting exercise is November's lesson. Students then move to discussions of careers and what classes they'll need to take to get the jobs they want. At the end of the program, after making plans and setting goals, students write a promise to themselves.

"We want them to know what they want is achievable and how to get there," Martinez said.

NW News on 11/20/2014

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