Students at Cedar Springs High School experienced a glimpse into their future on Friday, April 12 with the Life Unplugged Program that was sponsored by the Cedar Springs Kent ISD WIA Career Club that meets at the High School on a weekly basis. The WIA Career Club students had experienced Life Unplugged last year at Kent ISD with students from thirteen other Kent ISD WIA groups from area high schools and wanted to share it with their classmates at Cedar Springs High School. It has been a service project for them where they have gained leadership skills, learned how to contact volunteers, and organize a large event.

Life Unplugged is an educational, financial literacy program that gives students a chance to participate in hands on exercises to determine their most important values, identify their ideal careers, living within a monthly budget and work through critical career choices. Volunteers manned each station simulating a month in the life of the students who were each transformed into a “25 year old” for the program. All choices and decisions had to accommodate their family, career, and lifestyle as they “spent” their monthly paycheck.  Student comments included “I didn’t know it cost so much” and I guess I had better pick a career that will support what I want to do.”