Educational Talent Search Offers 'Mad City Money' on Arkansas Northeastern College Campus

Mad City Money simulates a mock community, complete with a finance company, realtors, grocery store, clothing store, car dealership, day care center and other businesses that are essential to living as an adult. The simulation was sponsored by the TRiO Educational Talent Search program, housed on the ANC campus, and the Northeast Arkansas Federal Credit Union. 10th graders from 13 school districts participated in the simulation on the ANC main campus, where they learned to maneuver through a month of life on a fixed income and with a family in town.

The primary goal of the simulation is for young student to gain experience in managing a budget and realizing the costs incurred by families. Checkbooks were provided by the NEAFCU and each purchase or expense was recorded as the students made their way through the mad city.

Educational Talent Search is a grant program funded by the United States Department of Education at Arkansas Northeastern College with the primary purpose of encouraging students to complete a rigorous high school curriculum, enroll in a postsecondary institution, and earn a postsecondary degree. Thank you to everyone who assisted with this event. The young students who participated learned so much from the experience and found themselves surprised by circumstances many times. The staff of the TRiO Talent Search program, Director Tonya Harris, Kathy Fincher, Shannon Shelton, Pam Faulkenberry, Vicki Gamble, and Candice Wilborn, would like to thank ANC for allowing the TRiO Staff to use the facilities on the main campus of ANC to provide this wonderful simulation to our students.