In sixth grade, my class had the opportunity to participate in a program that taught us about money, business, and the economy. On our last day, we got to act as citizens of a model city and live in the real world. It was my favorite day of school; it was different than our usual time in the classroom. I will never forget my job there: manager of the warehouse. I wanted to be like Darryl Philbin from The Office for a day. I loved every second of it, even getting fined by the mayor for not walking backward past the police station.

Fast forward to young adulthood, and I felt stuck in life. My lifelong dream had been to work in sports media, but after spending two-plus years in the industry, I realized now that the dream had come true, it wasn’t what I wanted in my life. I struggled to find a purpose in my work, it didn’t feel meaningful. I began to dread producing radio shows. Thus, I started the search for a new job. It was terrible, I was struggling to even get automated rejection letters from companies! Then, I got an email highlighting the open Communications Coordinator position at Junior Achievement.

As I read through the mission and impact, I realized JA was the place for me. It made me think back to my day in the warehouse in sixth grade; I was a kid who had the whole world ahead of him and was having so much fun, but I didn’t know all the possibilities that were out there. It was such a memorable experience for me, and I wanted to be a part of an organization that provides those memories for today’s students and inspires them to dream big.

There is no better feeling than coming to work every day knowing you are making a difference.

As I write this, I have been a member of the wonderful Junior Achievement staff for more than a year and a half, but it doesn’t feel anywhere close to that. They say time flies when you’re having fun, I say time flies when you find your purpose in life. Junior Achievement has provided me with that purpose.

Vinny Lupo is the Communications Specialist for Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain. In this role, he spreads the word about the impact JA has on our community’s young people