Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Youth Mentorship: A Humorous Reflection

In the realm of career experiences, it’s not uncommon to stumble upon moments that test our moral compass. One amusing scenario that highlights this concept stems from my time volunteered as a mentor for a Junior Achievement team comprised of budding high school entrepreneurs.

Our mission was straightforward yet ambitious: guide a team of second and third-year associates while they launched their own small business, which needed to be operational for a few months. We decided to pursue a fruit basket business – a seemingly delightful venture where we would procure fruit in bulk, assemble it into attractive baskets, and deliver these to local homes. Simple enough, right? Not quite.

The twist? Junior Achievement enforced specific rules designed to protect young entrepreneurs, including a prohibition on incurring any debt. On paper, this seemed prudent; however, in practical terms, it created considerable challenges for our budding business endeavor. Without the option to take on debt, our team faced a dilemma: How could we acquire the fruit necessary for our baskets without upfront funds? And if we couldn’t obtain cash without creating liabilities, we hit a brick wall.

Our solution, while perhaps less than ethical, was rather inventive. We required customers to prepay for their fruit baskets, collecting funds at the time of the order and promising delivery weeks later. From a business perspective, this strategy worked seamlessly, ensuring we had the necessary capital to fulfill our orders.

Here’s where things took a humorous turn. As we prepared weekly financial reports to submit to the Junior Achievement office, we faced a conundrum: if we accurately recorded our cash collections and deferred revenue, there would undoubtedly be backlash from the organization. Yet, we needed to maintain accurate records of who had paid and who was awaiting their fruit baskets.

In a twist of fate, we inadvertently began keeping two sets of financial books. The first, our “real” records, captured the true state of our operations, while the second set was crafted purely for submission and scrutiny by the Junior Achievement office. Surprisingly, we included the high school students in this covert operation, all while sharing a collective chuckle over our creative Bookkeeping practices.

After a few weeks, we found ourselves in a moment of revelation—“Wow, we’re actually maintaining two sets of records!” Yet, rather than feeling guilty, we agreed to continue with this approach given the project was nearing its end and, frankly, it was working splendidly.

Reflecting on this experience