Union Middle eighth-graders recently got a glimpse into their future, trading their usual class schedule to learn about careers, bills, families and responsibilities during the school’s annual Reality Town. 

The hands-on simulation transforms part of the school into a mini-city, where students role-played a month of adult life. They arrived with assigned careers, salaries and families, then had to make decisions about housing, transportation, health care, utilities, insurance, groceries and other financial choices.

Before their big day, a team, including school counselor Lynn Nelson, helps the eighth-graders prepare.

“They each get a booklet and we go through it and say, ‘This is a month of your life. You're going to be 30 years old,’” said Nelson, who has overseen the mock town for 11 years. “We talk about needing to get housing, transportation, insurance and groceries. We go through what it says on their pay stub — how much they make, what the difference between gross and net is, taxes. We hope they get an idea of their future life and start planning.”

On Reality Town day, the Bobcat Den was buzzing as students move from booth to booth making real-world decisions with the help of parent volunteers and Hillcrest High School students, who run booths representing everything from banks to entertainment. 

Parent Chris Martin volunteered as his daughter, Maya, was participating as a nurse practitioner.  She already had an idea about Reality Town, he said, as her older brother, Dylan, learned from it last year.

“He bought a sports car, then he didn't have enough money for a house, so he joined up with somebody else for housing,” Martin said. “He learned how life patterns can evolve depending on his wants and needs.”

Eighth-grader Adell Clark was eager to embrace her role as a surgeon with a family.

Adell followed the advice of the counseling team and planned her future. Using her salary of $5,772 per month, along with her husband contributing an additional $500 while still in school, she wanted to make sure ends met while raising two children — George, 5, and Rachel, 3, and caring for their golden retriever named Zeke.

“My priorities are making sure we have healthy food and letting my kids do some activities they want to do. I want to make sure our family is good on money, that we're not spending too much, but we're still having fun,” she said.

To help manage costs, Adell said her family will share a home with another family and buy a minivan.

“The best part is getting to explore and getting a small idea of what it's going to look like one day, but also to have fun as an eighth grader,” she said.

Seventeen Hillcrest students helped the younger students, but the high school’s work-based coordinator Cher Burbank said Reality Town benefits all students.

“What I love most about students coming over from the high school is they learn a lot more than even the eighth graders learn by being at the booth,” Burbank said. “They learn more about their services at the booth and what it takes to pay for entertainment or utilities or one of the many different things their parents are paying for, so it's very beneficial for them.”

Burbank, who has helped with 64 Reality Towns over two decades, appreciates Reality Town’s impact.

“I hope they leave with a better picture of the world of work and what we do to provide for our families. It’s a good lesson to learn early on. I hope they learn they will need money to make ends meet through a good career and start focusing on taking classes that will help them,” she said.

For some students, the authenticity of the experience hits home.

“It gives them a reality check,” Nelson said. “Last year, a girl looked at me and asked, ‘Is this what it’s really like to be an adult?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’”