Inspiring the leaders of tomorrow through hands-on learning
Junior Achievement (JA) strives to build the next generation of leaders and fosters economic success for students. One of the ways they do this is by partnering with a variety of companies to offer dynamic, real-world simulations that redefine what an educational space can be. This isn’t just another classroom; it’s a unique, living environment that encourages students to discover different types of career opportunities.
Inspiring the next generation of leaders through experiential learning is near and dear to our heart, too. So we were excited to collaborate with JA of South Florida and CVS Health and use our strategic and creative chops to transform a simple space into an immersive, healthcare experience.
Building the game
Gaining an understanding of healthcare goes deeper than just reading textbooks. So, we set out to make a hands-on experience for the eighth-graders of South Florida by demystifying the topic and transforming complex concepts into an engaging, immersive adventure through physical assets, visual elements, content strategy and high-resolution scenes.
The heart of the experience was an interactive, story-driven game built around three unique personas. Each was crafted into a patient profile sheet, offering students the chance to diagnose, explore and problem-solve in real-world scenarios.
After extensive testing, prototyping and refinement, the game was ready to be played.
Upon arrival, each student, playing the role of a healthcare professional, selected one of three patient profile sheets, each containing a bio, list of symptoms, a starting station and guiding questions. Once the students had their personas, they spent time navigating the four interactive stations: Retail Store, MinuteClinic, Aetna and Pharmacy. At each station, students chose from three cards, using information from their profile sheets and previous stations to find the correct answer and advance the story.
By turning abstract ideas into tangible actions, we’ve made healthcare accessible, exciting and potentially a future career path for these students.
The future of healthcare professionals
In the end, the game was a huge success amongst the students, and they were excited to learn more about a career in healthcare.
“CVS was my favorite because it taught me about health and insurance,” one student shared. Another added, “CVS was my favorite because I was able to walk around and research the illnesses.”
Through the dedicated hard work and collaborative efforts of our team, a dynamic experience was created. “I wanted to thank each and every one of you for everything you did to create such an amazing space for the students,” said Monica McNearney, chief operating officer at Junior Achievement of South Florida. She also said several students cited the CVS Health space as their favorite.
One thing is certain: projects like these, which combine creativity and strategy, have the potential to inspire the leaders of tomorrow.