Happy Holidays from St. Gregory And our merry jam band.

Junior Achievement Job Shadow Day is like a holiday at St. Gregory: We plan and prep and look forward to it for weeks, discussing what worked last year—and what caused the kids to start inspecting their fingernails. Last week, we got to  host Ms. McCoy-Lampkin’s eighth-grade Junior Achievement class from Withrow University High School. As always, we were blown away by the talent and potential of JA kids—not to mention energized about our own jobs. Eighth graders don’t exactly roll into our office itching to talk marketing. In an effort to break through kids’ natural reticence with strange, overly enthusiastic adults, we decided to give them a taste of what it’s like to work here. We divided the kids into two groups and assigned them to create Instagram videos promoting Junior Achievement. The teams jumped right in and worked on a very tight timeline, concepting, writing and shooting the spots in only about an hour and a half. After that, our crack video editor, Scotty, grabbed the footage and edited it into two creative, fun and inspiring spots. In between concepting, writing, and filming videos, we talked to the students about how companies use social media to advertise their products, how they target customers, and how branding works to influence buying decisions. We also talked about the career paths our team has followed to get where they are today, and shared a few tips on breaking into the biz. We finished with pizza (thanks, LaRosa’s!), candy and the exciting world premiere of their JA spots. Check out the videos for yourself. They really show off the creativity of JA kids—and their appreciation for Junior Achievement. A message to Ms. McCoy-Lampkin’s eighth-grade class: Next time we’re on deadline and struggling, can we call you guys in to brainstorm with us? View this post on Instagram From childhood to career, @jacincinnati exposes students to career resources, teaches them money management and helps them create their future. #wuhs #8thgraders A post shared by St. Gregory Culture (@sg_culture) on Mar 14, 2019 at 6:32am PDT   View this post on Instagram   If you believe, you CAN achieve. And @jacincinnati can help. #8thgraders #wuhs A post shared by St. Gregory Culture (@sg_culture) on Mar 14, 2019 at 6:56am PDT

Some of us were kayaking mavens; others felt a bit of apprehension about the five-mile journey ahead. At least one of us entertained fears of flipping the kayak and flailing soundlessly beneath the water as her fellow creatives paddled serenely a few feet ahead.