Jones College adult education students participate in ‘real world’ program

ELLISVILLE, Miss. (WDAM) – Adult education students at Jones College took a leap into the real world Wednesday with all the good and bad that comes with it.

“Real life happens, so it’s teaching us and preparing us for real life,” said Kristopher Lee, an adult education student.

Mississippi State University Extension Service travels across the state to hold real-world sessions and teach students the highs and lows of life as well as career readiness.

“You put your things that are most important on the top for sure and then work your way down and whatever you have left over, be smart with it,” said Katie Barnett, another adult education student.

Forty people participated in Wednesday’s exercise, going through various mock scenarios, like a fixed income for an assigned occupation or having children.

“(It’s) (h)ow to get your finances in order,” said Paige McCardle, Adult Education/Smart Start instructor. “All about buying a car, buying a house, contributions, tithing, insurance, supplemental income, having to get a job when you just run out of money,”

The students also learned to prepare for the unexpected.

“They will choose out of a bucket a ‘life happens.’ so, it can work in their favor, or it can work against them,” said Kim Hancock, MSU extension agent/county coordinator.

Also, if they ran out of money, participants learned about the benefits of getting a second job.

“After each section that I went to, I ended up having $455, which is going in my savings account,” Lee said.

Students also learned about responsibilities when they take an Adult Education ‘Smart Start’ course.

Those courses help create resumes, wrestle with with time management and brush up interviewing skills.

“We want to teach them just kind of real-world, employability skills and the financial awareness portion of that is very important to help them be successful,” McCardle said.

The Smart Start course is 45 hours and people are welcome to join the class every Monday.

Those who complete the course receive a national “career readiness” certificate.

For more information on the Adult Education Program, click HERE.

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