OGDEN -- Jenny Villicana helps her parents pay the family bills.
Natalia Palacio sleeps in a freezing basement and has no clue how she'll pay for college.
Kia Wilson's dad is out of work, so her mom had to find a job and Kia never has money to spend for anything, let alone stuff she wants.
Making their way through the recession, the three Ogden High School students are not only getting by and adapting, they see this as a time of opportunity, growth and family togetherness.
After all, the three said, someone always comes out ahead in an economic disaster. They want it to be them.
"The economy has opened everybody's eyes," said Villicana, a senior who has her eye on attending Weber State University.
"It's time to stop depending on others. Get off your butts and do what needs to be done."
The other two nod in agreement.
"If I could leave a thought, I would leave them with a quote: 'A setback is only a setup for a comeback,' " said Wilson, a junior who devised a nationally recognized savings plan for her fellow students.
Wilson loves inspirational quotes. She sprinkled several throughout the interview.
Palacio, who wants to study entrepreneurship at the University of Utah, said she's using the recession as an opportunity to find out what sorts of businesses are still growing and expanding.
"There's always that opportunity. You turn the negativism and make it a positive."
While federal statistics say the economic recession has ended, some national indicators still look grim. Unemployment just hit 10.2 percent, home foreclosure rates are still high, and experts worry that, without further federal stimulus funds, the upturn could head south again.
Villicana, Wilson and Palacio appeared at the recent Diversity Conference at Weber State University to talk about how the economic downturn has affected teens in a central-city high school.
Villicana and Palacio were selected based on essays they wrote for class. Wilson, the only junior of the three, designed a financial fitness program in conjunction with United Way's Utah Saves program.
She used it to educate her classmates on the importance of regular saving, won herself and Ogden High School national recognition and got more than 80 students enrolled in regular savings programs.
"For me, it's been harder," Villicana said. "I'm working harder to reach my goals. In jobs, everyone's getting fired. I have to work really hard to keep my job."
She's putting in double shifts and even considering applying for a supervisor's position just to get more hours, but she sees no option.
"My parents told me they want me to go to college, but they have no money," she said.
Palacio originally wanted to study public relations, but since the economy went bad, she has switched to entrepreneurship.
The founders of the social network Facebook, for example, are not much older than she is and they're making millions. No matter how bad the economy gets, she said, people are still buying and selling. The trick is to find something people want to buy.
"There is money out there -- you just have to go out there and find it," she said.
Wilson said she has acquired a better long-term look at how to survive in an economy in which prosperity is never guaranteed.
"It made me more determined to look at what's out there," she said. "It's kind of good because, when I'm older, I'll be able to teach my kids."
What has really been interesting to see, they all said, is the effect the recession has had on their family life.
Everyone's cutting costs, clipping coupons and generally tightening up, but they said a fun thing is also happening: They're all getting closer as families.
"We used to go out to movies, and now we just go out and do something fun, like go to the park," Wilson said. "I miss it (the movies), but I'm getting used to what I have."
Sleeping in a freezing basement has definitely brought her closer to her siblings, Palacio said, if only to stay warm.
"It's fun to watch my mom go nuts about the heater," she said, but added that it has also given her a deep appreciation for the work that goes into providing for a family.
Villicana also said the shared struggle is helping bind her family.
"Our family relationships are strengthening. My family is a lot closer now."
All three said they hope the lessons they learn now will be something they can hand down to their own children.
"It's the power of decision, knowing where you're going," Palacio said. "All the doors are open. The money is there to grab. You have to know where you're going; you can't leave it up to chance."
Wilson said a recession is a good time to learn how to be thrifty.
"It's wider creativity and getting more things for a dollar," she said. "We can take everything we've learned in this bad crisis and use it to make things better in the future."
She's taken it so much to heart, she said, that "even if I see a penny, I pick it up."
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