To our partners, educators, and parents — thank you for helping make this school year such a success! Your ongoing support and advocacy are key to connecting students with future careers. We look forward to continuing our collaboration and making an impact in the year ahead.

Year in Review — School Year 2025 – ’26

The 2025 – ’26 school year was full of learning, discovery, opportunity, and FUN! We couldn’t have done it without the support of our amazing partners and volunteers. Check out this video to see some of the experiences your involvement helped support.

Lights, Sirens, and Self-Discovery: Larkin Brown’s Internship with Tipton Ambulance Service

Larkin Brown, a senior at West Branch High School, recently completed a one-week, 32-hour WLC J-Term internship with the city of Tipton director of emergency medical services, Brad Ratliff, and the Tipton Ambulance Service. “What surprised me most about my internship was learning the differences between rural and urban EMS,” says Larkin. “The experience as a whole helped me figure out what I want to do and helped me start making a plan.”

Each day Larkin arrived on time with a positive attitude and was ready to jump right in. Her professionalism and willingness to participate did not go unnoticed. Brad said this about Larkin: “I truly appreciated the effort she put into being present and engaged, and she brought a willingness to learn. Although we didn’t see much action in the field during her week with us, I am glad she had the opportunity to spend time with our team members and hear about their personal experiences and what it is like to work in EMS.”

As part of her internship experience, Larkin was able to take part in some valuable training opportunities. She completed training in Stop the Bleed and became certified in Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS). These are meaningful accomplishments and important foundational skills for work in emergency and healthcare settings.

In addition to her training opportunities, Larkin was able to take part in some observational experiences as well. Brad coordinated the opportunity for Larkin to observe clinical care inside the Emergency Department at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Downtown. Several team members from the department commented that they hoped Larkin would consider returning in the future as a patient care technician.

Another highlight of the week was visiting Kirkwood Community College’s Emergency Medical Services program. Through that experience, Larkin was able to visualize herself as a college student and imagine what her future could look like.

“Watching that realization happen was truly one of my proudest moments as a mentor,” Brad says. “I saw someone who was not just exploring options, but someone beginning to recognize their own potential.” After this experience, Larkin has taken steps to apply to college and build a plan for her future after high school graduation.

Full Circle: Former FLF Student Returns to Give Back

Our Financial Literacy Fair (FLF) events would not be possible without the support of hundreds of dedicated community volunteers. One of our favorite moments each year is reconnecting with volunteers who once participated in FLF events as students themselves.

Last month at our Northwest Junior High Financial Literacy Fair, we had the pleasure of connecting with Samuel Vint, human resource expert from Target. Samuel shared that he attended FLF as an eighth grader at Excelsior Middle School. When asked what he remembered most, he said, “I remember my friends and I decided that for housing, we were going to go in together and buy a mansion.” When asked how that plan was working out, he joked, “We’re still in the planning phase.”

Samuel was also gracious enough to reflect on his full-circle experience — from FLF participant to volunteer.

How did you enjoy participating as a volunteer this year?
“I really enjoyed my time at FLF! Being on the other side of an event I participated in during middle school was a special experience, especially remembering how much I took away from it.”

Did anything surprise you about your experience as a volunteer?
“I was surprised by the level of thought students put into their decisions. Even with the scenario being hypothetical, the students really bought into the experience and took the opportunity to be responsible with their budget.”

Any favorite moments you have from your experience at Northwest?
“I was at the food booth, where students made decisions around meal/food budgets. One memorable interaction was actually trying to convince a student to spend more money! I had one student who was making a comical amount of money (somewhere in the ballpark of $600,000). She was surrounded by friends with much more constricting budgets and thus wanted to try and save her money. I had to convince her that she had so much money that in this scenario it would be more than OK to spend more money on food. It was interesting to see how she wanted to play it safe even with that level of income.”

Do you think the Financial Literacy Fair is a valuable experience for students?
“Absolutely. Having the opportunity to consider how they spend their income in a hypothetical scenario not long before some of them have to make these decisions in real life will help them in the long run. Budgeting, especially in college, is a big part of my life now, and I think introducing the concept early can be very beneficial for these students.”

Is there anything else you remember about attending FLF as a middle schooler?
“I particularly remember how tough it was to make trade-offs between different items. Sometimes I had to sacrifice in certain areas to make ends meet in others. To be honest, I had no idea how applicable it would be in my future at that point, but I am very glad that I was introduced to the concept of budgeting while I was young so when it came to budgeting in real life, I was better prepared thanks to the FLF.”