The financial reality fair has run annually for the past five years. Mr Gaul has organized this event with the help of Mrs. Del Conte and volunteers. The purpose of this event is to give students a realistic view of the financial expectations for their future. This year, the fair ran exclusively for juniors when in the past it included seniors as well. On March 19, students were called down to the LGI by homeroom to watch a 45-minute introductory video. From there, they moved to the new gym to walk through each station. All students are given a paper to track their finances with a salary that was set up a week before with the career they selected. Some of the costs that students had to consider were housing, utilities, phone payment, food, entertainment, car payment, and all other expected expenses. Utilities Employees Credit Union helps run the event by providing volunteers to work the stations. HAHS also received volunteers from Amazon. St. Luke’s, Niagara Water, and Hidden River.
One junior who attended this event, Madeline Handwerk, thought that it was helpful. She chose occupational therapy as this is the career she intends to enter. The financial reality fair was not confusing and was easy to walk through since everything was thoroughly explained along the way. Madeline learned that she has to be really cautious with what she spends money on in the future. The financial reality fair will help her make smarter decisions and manage her finances smartly. She thinks it is a great idea and very helpful that HAHS offers this to students.
