Cameron Aylward

Exchange City

First Draft

     Good morning!  My name is Cameron Aylward.  I am here to tell you about my experience at Exchange City.  Exchange City is held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Before and during Exchange City, fifth graders learn how to interview for jobs, manage their money and run a business.

     I think the best part of Exchange City was working with my friends in a business where we all shared the same interests.  I worked in the Sign Shop.  We created signs for people to use to advertise their businesses.  Each business gave us a rough draft of what their signs would look like.  We created colorful versions of their signs to hang on their mailboxes.

     I learned that being in business is not always easy.  All day we worked knowing that we had a loan that needed to be paid off by the end of the day.  Loans would be paid off by the businesses earning money.  Unfortunately we did not sell enough products to pay off the loan.  We also had to remind ourselves to work together even in the toughest of times, similar to the real world today.

     Personally I think all fifth graders should go to Exchange City.  It was helpful to learn how to write checks, interview for jobs, manage money and run a business cooperatively.

     Thank you for letting me speak to you.  Have a nice day.