VALENTINE, Neb. - High school sophomores from across the Sandhills stepped into adulthood for a day during “An Intro to Life,” a budgeting and life-skills simulation held in Valentine.

Students were handed folders outlining their careers, income and even how many children they had. For Thedford sophomore Jacie Hamilton, that meant becoming a mother of two — “a six-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter,” she explained — while working as an event planner. One of her first tasks was deciding how much to spend on clothing.

“You’re an event planner, so you’re going to have to dress up for your job,” the station manager reminded her as she calculated costs.

Dozens of students rotated through stations covering everything from insurance and housing to groceries.

“They have their set income, and they’ll go through all of the different budget stations,” event organizer Aubrey Benson said. “They’ll figure out what they decide in life, and they have to base it off of their real-life experiences.”

Rock County sophomore Riar LeZotte said the experience felt like a preview of adulthood. “I’m excited to learn what my future could entail,” he said.

The event wasn’t just a learning exercise for sophomores. Valentine seniors Sam Sprenger and Aubrey Benson organized the program, recruiting volunteers and ensuring paperwork was complete ahead of time.

“They have to take a CliftonStrengths test, each one of them,” Sprenger said. “We have to gather that information and print it off and have them upload it and send it to the computer. I had to communicate with all of the sophomores who didn’t do it correctly.”

Benson said coordinating the volunteers also improved her leadership skills. “Even talking with all of the volunteers — knowing what to say at the right time and when to say it,” she said.

In addition to managing a household budget, students learned basic skills like interviewing for a job, sewing on buttons and counting back change. LeZotte said that last station would be especially useful for him. “I do a bunch of concession stands, but I never count the money back,” he said. “I’m going to have to go over there and learn it.”

By the end of the simulation, organizer hope the students walked away with a deeper understanding of the decisions adults make every day — and a few new life skills to carry with them.