Students and staff of the Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy gather for the Reality Store event on Friday afternoon. (Journal photo by Abby LaForest)

MARQUETTE — The Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy hosted its Marquette version of their Reality Store event at the Peter White Public Library on Friday, teaching kids how to prepare for their financial futures.

Students in grades five through twelve had the chance to simulate adult life situations through a variety of stations that required budgeting their finances and allocating their income. The simulation allowed students to take on a job and salary, learning how to pay bills and manage unexpected life events in ways where their financial choices help shape their understanding of real-world money management.

Categories that students learned to budget for included housing, insurance, groceries, medical expenses, childcare, legal issues and more. By providing a hands-on way to understand the costs of living and budgeting, students are meant to confidently learn the financial skills they’ll need for adulthood in a low-pressure, engaging environment.

Raphael Weaver, a regional community coordinator with MGLVA, explained how they try to make it to the Upper Peninsula at least once a year, and that the event is a great opportunity for virtual students to get out into their communities. With virtual students all across the state, the MGLVA is dedicated to ensuring that students also have access to social events in their own areas. The school is a tuition-free, full-time online public school that serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Miranda Collins, a high school freshman and second-time attendee of the Reality Store event, recommends that other students from MGLVA come check it out when it’s in town.

“(I recommend it) one hundred percent. It gives you so many different resources and even for little kids, I think it helps them realize that for parents who don’t have that much money, it makes (the kids) look at (finances differently) that this is what (their parents) going through and it prepares them for what the real world’s like,” Collins said.

Those looking for more information about the MGLVA can visit its website online at mglva.k12.com.