Clayton State University Launches an Interactive Storefront at JA Delta Discovery Center of Clayton County
(April 30, 2026) - Clayton State University recently opened its storefront at The JA Delta Discovery Center of Clayton County, located at 1300 Southlake Circle, Suite 1000, in Morrow, Georgia. The multimedia interactive venue, staffed by Junior Achievement-trained personnel, will provide middle school students with a space to explore all the degree programs Clayton State offers to prepare them for future in-demand careers.
The storefront is located next to Publix Supermarket in the Southlake retail district and within the Clayton Convocation Center and Arena complex, positioning Clayton State at a central community hub with strong visibility and ongoing opportunities to engage students and families about higher education.
Clayton State University President Georj L. Lewis reflected on the significance of this collaboration, emphasizing the university’s commitment to community and student opportunity, saying, “What makes this collaboration especially meaningful is its connection to our surrounding community. By bringing Junior Achievement programs so close to our campus, we are opening doors for local middle school students to see a university not as something distant, but as something within reach—right here in their own neighborhood.”
The JA Delta Discovery Center experience begins with up to 21 teacher-led classroom
sessions on the economy, careers, citizenship, and budgeting, fully integrated into
the JA BizTown and JA Finance Park simulations. Groups of students participate in career-aligned “life scenarios” tied
to authentic, high-demand jobs reflective of Clayton State’s programs, exploring salary
expectations, educational requirements, job responsibilities, and potential career
advancement opportunities.
In JA BizTown, students interact in a simulated economy, taking on the challenge of
starting and running a business. They are assigned a job within one of the businesses,
learn what it’s like to work that job, earn and budget a paycheck, pay taxes, vote
for elected officials for the day, and work together to pay back a start-up loan.
In JA Finance Park, students manage a household budget and learn about personal finance.
They are assigned a random “life situation” with an education level, salary, and family
scenario, then visit businesses representing major budget line items such as housing,
utilities, and food, working to provide for themselves and their families within their
assigned means. The storefront also participates in both Business-to-Business (B2B)
and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) components, helping students understand how higher
education connects to personal budgeting and the broader economy.
The addition of the new Discovery Center will enable JA to serve an additional 17,000 middle school students annually through JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, expanding statewide outreach to 60%+ of all Georgia middle school students. JA will also serve 5,000 high school students annually through the JA Dream Accelerator.