Volunteer - Volunteer Spotlight
Martin Lavelle is an Associate Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Detroit Branch) and an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He has worked as a JA Volunteer since 2006 and comes back every year because “JA gives students a chance to be exposed to subjects they may not normally take and to perspectives from people who can provide real-world experiences. Students learn college-level material while developing their critical thinking skills.”
The Federal Reserve encourages its employees, like Martin, to give back to the community through volunteering for Junior Achievement. Each year, the Detroit branch adopts Campbell Elementary school and recruits volunteers to teach JA to all 400 students. Martin teaches Our Nation to Campbell’s 5th graders.
In addition, Martin volunteered this past year at Hamtramck High School and taught our newest program, JA Be Entrepreneurial. Students are instructed to develop a detailed business plan for a new or improved product or service, which includes both a PowerPoint presentation and a commercial to market the product. The students’ business plans were submitted to the JA Be Entrepreneurial Business Challenge Competition in February 2010. Two of Martin’s students were awarded $1,000 college scholarships as part of the competition. “Seeing my students perform and excel at the highest level gave me a great sense of achievement and fulfillment,” says Martin. In addition, Martin’s class constructed a special thank you for him, a giant wallet made from construction paper, with “dollar bills” on which were written personal thank you notes.
Martin believes it is his personal responsibility to provide young people with a chance to gain professional success. “I experience…students take the knowledge and insight I’ve tried to give them and turn it into their own, better idea. Those memories will stay with me forever.”
Volunteering for Junior Achievement changes young people’s thinking and transforms lives. Become a JA Volunteer TODAY!
