They are all heroes — Junior Achievement of New Jersey high school heroes. And they’ve been recognized with the High School Hero Scholar Award for teaching younger children why education is important and how to prepare for a career, and then writing an essay about their time in the classroom.
One of the six winners is Cynthia Kyerewaa, who will attend Essex County College.
“I actually got it and I was so happy, and also with my sister as well, I burst into tears because I was so happy that I actually won the essay and my essay was actually qualified to win,” she said.
Kyerewaa said she now has a new appreciation for just how hard a job teaching is.
“I have more appreciation for teachers because like, teaching a whole class of kids is not easy and I really got to like live one day of how it is to be like a social worker or like a teacher,” she said.
The subjects were all aimed at giving this group of elementary school students some life skills.
“We took over the classroom and started teaching them different types of careers and interests, and budgeting, and how to properly finance your money for like in the future,” she said.