This year, for the first time, Wellington High School invited the sophomore class from Conway Springs and other surrounding schools to take part in a simulation called Reality U to help them plan out their lives. Leading up to the activity, the sophomores took a survey. Students weren’t aware at the time that the quiz would decide their family, job and debt. 

“I didn’t like the simulation because they put a time limit on us, and everyone had to do the same thing so there were long lines everywhere, and it was stressful. It was really claustrophobic, but I liked the candy at the stations,” Allyson Lange said.

The activities included traveling from one table to the next around the gym floor. Each table had different things to spend money on, such as buying a car, insurance, clothes, houses and utilities, debt and child care. 

“It seemed a lot like real life, and my favorite part was getting to act like an adult,” Ethan Perkins said. “I didn’t feel stressed other than having to keep my partner from buying things we didn’t need. I was glad it was activities and not a boring speech like I thought it was going to be.”.

Reality U is a program with goals pertaining to helping students be more prepared for the real world. The program also wants to increase understanding of financial decisions. Additionally, working with other schools helps build a community that can be used in the future lives of the participants.

“I was married and had two kids,” Emily Heimerman said. “It was weird working with someone I didn’t know because I didn’t know his personality, which made it hard to make some decisions. Money was the most stressful part.”