On Friday, Oct. 27, Penn Manor High School, 100 E. Cottage Ave., Millersville, will host REAL Life for its 11th-grade students. REAL Life is a full-day school event offered by Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania (JASCPA) that seeks to prepare students for many practical challenges faced in adulthood.

At the beginning of the day, the class of juniors will be separated into two groups. For the first half of the day, the students in one group will complete budgeting exercises and engage in activities that will teach them how to manage finances in adult life. While the first group is completing budgeting activities, the second group will rotate through four educational modules. In the middle of the day, the groups will switch activities.

During the budgeting portion of the program, each student will be assigned a hypothetical life scenario and career. Based on the given scenario, the students will have to create a budget and balance it to match their circumstances. A student may play the role of a welder, doctor or teacher during the activity and make decisions such as choosing what type of vehicle or home to purchase with his or her income. Some students may choose to purchase a high-end vehicle in their scenarios and will need to factor in the increased maintenance and insurance costs, whereas other students may choose a more affordable car.

"They quickly learn how these decisions affect a budget in the long run," said Allison Kierce of JASCPA. "If you have a career that you needed to attend college for, you have to factor in student loans. It creates a lot of conversation at the table, and they realize things that they might not have realized before."

For the other portion of the REAL Life program, students will complete activities in four modules: "Interviewing Tips," "#Adulting," "My Brand" and "Is the Price Right?" "Interviewing Tips" will cover good practices in interviews for opportunities such as summer jobs and internships.

In the second module, students will play #Adulting, a board game based on the Game of Life that provides the teens with an opportunity to act out challenges faced in adulthood. As students progress across the board in #Adulting, they will encounter problems like getting a vehicle repaired and buying a new roof for a home.

In the third module, students will discuss the importance of maintaining a personal brand through interactions on social media and in-person events. "My Brand" emphasizes the importance of conducting oneself mindfully and covers how to be careful with one's brand.

In the final module, students will play "Is the Price Right?" In this game, they will guess the costs of common household goods and other items.

"So many students come away from the program saying that it opened their eyes to things they didn't realize before," said Kierce. "It's a hands-on, immersive day. We call it 'REAL Life' because that's what's coming down the road."

JASCPA is still looking for volunteers for the event. To sign up to be a volunteer for REAL Life, visit https://tinyurl.com/REALLifePM.