A local businessman and philanthropist made the single largest contribution in the almost 70-year history of Junior Achievement in the state of Georgia on Friday.
Mike Cottrell pledged to invest $3.5 million dollars in a state of the art learning facility for middle and high school students in the North Georgia area.
The Mike & Lynn Cottrell JA Discovery Center of North Georgia will open August 2018 on the campus of the Alliance Academy for Innovation of Cumming-Forsyth County.
The center will house JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, two immersive simulations where students explore industries and careers, and acquire foundational knowledge for financial well-being.
“Maybe some of them will take something away on a career path for something that they like to do,” said Cottrell during the official signing event at the Hunt Tower in downtown Gainesville. “Be exposed to something that they’re not normally exposed to in middle school or high school.”
This will be the third such center in the state, first outside of the Atlanta metro area, and will serve approximately 15,000 students a year throughout the region.
“This really becomes the model and the inspiration for other communities across the state,” said Jack Harris, president and CEO of JA of Georgia.
This isn’t the first major contribution made by the Cottrells in the field of education. The Mike Cottrell College of Business is located on the University of North Georgia’s Dahlonega campus.
