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<p>PITTSTON TWP. &#8212; Midway through her first morning as an insurance executive, Emily Iannucci-Furman caught her breath and explained, &#8220;I have to sign a lot of papers and print papers and hand them out. It&#8217;s a lot of work and I&#8217;m sweating.&#8221;</p><p>The fifth-grade student from Dallas Elementary School did seem busy, but so did her classmates.</p><p>Consider 10-year-old Floyd Sutton, sporting a hard hat as he approached the managers of one small business after another. &#8220;Excuse me, I&#8217;m from PPL,&#8221; he said, offering to replace air filters and then doing the honors by slipping a clean screen into a wall opening.</p><p>Meanwhile, in her role as a medical doctor, 10-year-old Chloe Dudick had plenty of eye exams to administer and, as a biochemist attempting to solve a crime, 10-year-old Mark Karcutskie peered through a microscope at hair samples.</p><p>Welcome to Biztown, a small-scale community set up at Junior Achievement of Northeastern Pennsylvania&#8217;s JA Mericle Family Center for Enterprise Education. Since the facility opened in October 2007, nearly 30,000 students have visited to experience a taste of grown-up careers and financial management.</p><p>On a recent Wednesday, the Dallas Elementary fifth-graders had their turn.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s pretty cool,&#8221; said parent chaperone Jill Antall. &#8220;Why didn&#8217;t they have this when we were in school?&#8221;</p><p>Before the students came to Biztown, teacher Laura Baloga said, they prepared for six weeks. &#8220;We had lessons on interests and skills, lessons on what they like to do, and the students fill out job applications.&#8221;</p><p>Teachers decide which job will fit each student, except for the position of mayor. Twelve Dallas Elementary students ran for the office this year and classmates elected 10-year-old Will Snowdon.</p><p>&#8220;I just want to make everybody smile and be happy,&#8221; the young mayor said, describing his platform.</p><p>Biztown held an inauguration ceremony for Will, during which he promised to treat everyone fairly.</p><p>Another important job went to Reagan Halbach, 10, who, as Biztown district attorney, visited each business to see if it had the appropriate license.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m the perfect person to be D.A.,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Because I&#8217;m detail-oriented.&#8221;</p><p>Each student had listed three career preferences; Halbach said her second choice was deejay and her third choice was something technical.</p><p>Before she could explain more, classmate Steven Straka ran up to her, waving a &#8220;loan agreement.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I need you to sign this, please,&#8221; he said, pointing to a line where an attorney&#8217;s signature was required.</p><p>A few steps away, at a store called Suit Yourself, retail clerk Jonathan Bilwin waited on classmate Cordelia Cigan, who had taken care to dress the part of a business executive for the field trip.</p><p>&#8220;I said yes to mascara and to her hair in a bun,&#8221; said Cordelia&#8217;s mom, Karen Cigan, a Dallas instructional aide. &#8220;But, no, I wasn&#8217;t going to buy her a new power suit.&#8221;</p><p>Noting she had overheard some youngsters discuss how to repay a business loan, Cigan said, &#8220;It&#8217;s fun to watch grown-up responsibility dawn on them for the first time.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;This gives them a taste of what their parents experience every day,&#8221; Baloga, the teacher, said. &#8220;They go home from this exhausted.&#8221;</p><p>During several hectic hours, students waited on each other in a cafe where popcorn and lemonade were big sellers, checked meters, sold retail items, printed out &#8220;payroll&#8221; checks and performed other tasks.</p><p>As reporters for the Biztown Press, Megan Bryk and Leialynn Hutchins, both 10, interviewed classmates about the challenges of a day at Biztown.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of people are saying it&#8217;s hard to be organized,&#8221; Bryk said.</p><p>Back at their little newsroom, editor Caitlin Curran, 11, read notes the reporters had already handed in.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m looking it over and putting it in the order I want it to be in,&#8221; she said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s fun to work with people,&#8221; Curran said, describing what she saw as the best part of the day. &#8220;That&#8217;s what it&#8217;s all about, learning how to be an adult and having fun.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Elementary students from the Dallas School District fill roles as bank tellers, cashing checks for fellow students during a field trip to the Mericle Family Center for Enterprise Education in Pittston Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Elementary students from the Dallas School District fill roles as bank tellers, cashing checks for fellow students during a field trip to the Mericle Family Center for Enterprise Education in Pittston Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Chloe Dudick, 10, in the role of a physician, gives an eye exam to Alexandra Pehala, 11. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown02.jpg</photo1><caption1>Chloe Dudick, 10, in the role of a physician, gives an eye exam to Alexandra Pehala, 11. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mark Karcutskie, 10, learns about biochemistry careers as he uses a microscope to see if hair samples match. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown03.jpg</photo2><caption2>Mark Karcutskie, 10, learns about biochemistry careers as he uses a microscope to see if hair samples match. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Representing a PPL worker, 10-year-old Floyd Sutton visits the various businesses of Biztown and &#8216;changes the air filters&#8217; by sliding a clean screen into a partition in the wall. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown04.jpg</photo3><caption3>Representing a PPL worker, 10-year-old Floyd Sutton visits the various businesses of Biztown and &#8216;changes the air filters&#8217; by sliding a clean screen into a partition in the wall. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown05.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Children eat lunches they brought from home in the cafe at Biztown, where they also purchased such goodies as popcorn and lemonade. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown05.jpg</photo4><caption4>Children eat lunches they brought from home in the cafe at Biztown, where they also purchased such goodies as popcorn and lemonade. </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown06.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas Elementary School student Emily Iannucci-Furman reported she was having a very busy time at Biztown, where she and her classmates spent a recent Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown06.jpg</photo5><caption5>Dallas Elementary School student Emily Iannucci-Furman reported she was having a very busy time at Biztown, where she and her classmates spent a recent Wednesday. </caption5><photoCredit5>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown07.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Elected as Biztown mayor for the day, Will Snowdon was determined to &#8216;make everybody smile and be happy.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown07.jpg</photo6><caption6>Elected as Biztown mayor for the day, Will Snowdon was determined to &#8216;make everybody smile and be happy.&#8217; </caption6><photoCredit6>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown08.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">As CEO of the Biztown Press newspaper, 11-year-old Sara Dixon said she had written an editorial about &#8216;how it&#8217;s hard to know when and where to spend your money.&#8217; A Times Leader logo is on the wall behind her because the real newspaper was one of several sponsoring businesses when the JA Mericle Family Center for Enterprise Education was built in 2007. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown08.jpg</photo7><caption7>As CEO of the Biztown Press newspaper, 11-year-old Sara Dixon said she had written an editorial about &#8216;how it&#8217;s hard to know when and where to spend your money.&#8217; A Times Leader logo is on the wall behind her because the real newspaper was one of several sponsoring businesses when the JA Mericle Family Center for Enterprise Education was built in 2007. </caption7><photoCredit7>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown09.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Working as a &#8216;retail clerk&#8217; at the Suit Yourself store, 10-year-old Jonathan Bilwin swipes a customer&#8217;s &#8216;bank card&#8217; at the cash register. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown09.jpg</photo8><caption8>Working as a &#8216;retail clerk&#8217; at the Suit Yourself store, 10-year-old Jonathan Bilwin swipes a customer&#8217;s &#8216;bank card&#8217; at the cash register. </caption8><photoCredit8>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit8></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown10.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Biztown Mayor Will Snowdon stands outside &#8216;City Hall,&#8217; where several of his classmates were working in various capacities. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo9>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biztown10.jpg</photo9><caption9>Biztown Mayor Will Snowdon stands outside &#8216;City Hall,&#8217; where several of his classmates were working in various capacities. </caption9><photoCredit9>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit9></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mary Therese Biebel</p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>More Info</strong></p><p>&#8226; Biztown is located inside the JA Mericle Family Center for Enterprise Education, 1122 Oak St., Pittston Township</p><p>&#8226; To learn how your students might become involved, contact Paul Francis at 570-602-3600 or email pfrancis@janepa.org.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

‘Learning how to be an adult’ at Biztown in Pittston Township