Jeff Lilley began volunteering with Junior Achievement® in December of 2014 at Sligo Middle School where his twin boys go to school. Since then, he’s volunteered at Westland Middle School, Takoma Park Middle School, most recently at Chevy Chase Elementary School and will volunteer at Briggs Chaney Middle School this coming December. He’s been a great volunteer in the classroom and recently reflected on what it means to give back to the community that gave him a foundation for his love of learning.
“I knew I would be teaching financial literary at my alma mater Chevy Chase Elementary School, but once I got teaching I sort of forgot about it. The school had been remodeled, and many years had passed since I had played kickball on the cement playground. But walking the halls I noticed 6th grade class pictures on the wall," he said. "I followed down the line — the pictures going from color to black and white, the styles from more staid 80s to flowery 70s -- and found my brother’s class of 1973. There he was in the corner, with his turtleneck and violet shirt — yep, 70s style! Then I got to my class, and the faces triggered my memory, and the names came flooding back. I ended up calling my closest childhood friend from elementary school, and we talked for half an hour, catching up on our lives and families. Thanks, JA, for supplementing the in-class experience with a trip down memory lane.”
Junior Achievement thanks Jeff for his work to help JA inspire a generation of young people to be ready for their futures.