Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) has partnered with Junior Achievement of New Jersey (JANJ) to help students of all ages explore career options while they’re young and is bringing the worldwide program to South Jersey.
“Our goal is to inspire students. We focus on career readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship,” said JANJ Senior Regional Program Director Celeste Hardrick, who has a new office at the college’s Internship and Career Planning Center on the Deptford campus.
“Our partnership with RCSJ is a common interest to help young people be successful and expose them to what career opportunities are available in this region,” noted JANJ President Jim Horne Jr., adding there are Junior Achievement programs throughout the U.S. and around the world.
The opening of the new office is exciting, Rowan Associate Vice President Candice Recite said.
“The younger you reach someone, the more impressionable they are,” she explained. “They can start thinking and deciding about their future at a younger age.”
JANJ inspires students from kindergarten on and teaches high-school students how to prepare for success.
“I started as a volunteer with JANJ in October 2022. I wanted to see what it was about,” said Hardrick, who was working as an insurance underwriter at the time. “I fell in love with the program.”
Assigned to the South Jersey region, she has also worked with the Glassboro campus of Rowan to bring young people there and give them a feel for what life as a student there would be like. And through the JANJ High School Heroes program, Hardrick gets volunteers to mentor grade-school students.
Although her new office just opened on Sept. 19, there is already a big event planned – a career exploration workshop for middle-school students on Nov. 15 at both the Deptford and Cumberland campuses that has 500 youngsters already signed up.
“The physical location of the office is so critical,” said Horne, who is based at the Edison, Middlesex County office. “We wanted to serve the residents of South Jersey.”
This office is the first expansion site for JANJ and will serve as the headquarters for its South Jersey-based initiatives. Together, Rowan and JANJ will help youth in the region explore a variety of careers, make sound educational decisions, and prepare for the workforce. Those experiences will serve the communities of South Jersey on both the Gloucester and Cumberland campuses.
During the official partnership signing ceremony on the 19th, Rowan President Dr. Fred Keating said, “This is truly a great event, and it was not hard for the college. In collaboration with JANJ, RCSJ will provide a pathway to … experiential learning opportunities to middle- and high-school students, bringing the world of work to them.
“We are proud of this partnership and that RCSJ will serve as the anchor for Junior Achievement in southern New Jersey.”
For information on Rowan’s academic pathways, go to RCSJ.edu/degrees. For information on JANJ programs, go to JANJ.ja.org.
