Career Development Strategies in High School

Benilde-St. Margarets School; St. Louis Park, MN Amanda Anderson Guidance and College Counselor aanderson@bsmschool.org Rosemount High School; Rosemount, MN Chad Terry Licensed School Counselor Chad.Terry@district196.org

Career Development at BSM Freshman year: Introduce to Naviance Individual meetings - talk about 4-year plan and goals Sophomore year: Start talking to our students about college majors and careers Encourage them to conduct informational interviews with alumni, family, or friends about their jobs, to set up job shadowing experiences, to volunteer or do an internship in an area they are interested in, and to speak with faculty at colleges We have them do a personality inventory (like the Myers-Briggs) that introduces them to careers that match their personality; encourage them to do the Career Interest Profiler and watch videos in Road Trip Nation about careers of interest Introduce them to What Can I Do with a Major in website and the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Course Registration at BSM February of each year before registration for following school year: All of our elective teachers speak to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors about their elective areas Our business department chair talks about all of our business electives, but really puts an emphasis on Accounting as being essential and foundational to any business-related degree and that Accounting is a really great starter class for anyone even somewhat interested in business as a career path

Other things we do that get students interested in Accounting Our business teachers bring in speakers Clifton Larson Allen (CLA) came in this year and talked about the job outlook, the need for Accountants, the internship opportunities and career opportunities We have a Business Professionals of America chapter and students participate in the regional and state competitions each year - allows students access to professionals in different fields, gets them excited about options and helps them find their passions

Other things we do that get students interested in Accounting or Business Just this year, we started partnering with St. Mary s University - they offer their Program for Advanced College Credit , and one of the courses approved by them was our Accounting 2 course, so juniors/seniors taking this course can pay $300 to get college credit through St. Mary s This has increased interest in both Accounting 1 and Accounting 2 courses significantly for 2023-2024 We take students or encourage students to go to college campuses for their business-related events U of St. Thomas Entrepreneurship Day that includes a Shark-Tank event MN Timberwolves/ MN Lynx Business Day MN Business Venture - this year at St. Thomas

Rosemount High School Large, suburban, public high school in District 196 2,400 Student Population Large Business Department with 3 full time teachers 2 sections of year-long accounting courses DECA program is well established Similar Registration and Department promotion to Benilde Soft skills are an emphasis in our business department

Resources our Accounting teacher shares with students: We typically watch the video HERE We watch the accounting rap song video HERE We watch the "Planet Popcorn" episode of The Profit HERE is a link to IMDB. We watch Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room about Enron. HERE is the IMDB.

Students in our Accounting 2 course - survey results Half of the students surveyed said that they took beginning accounting because of the comments made prior to registration by the business teachers Students commented that they liked the program used at BSM - that it was easy to follow AND that the teacher explained things clearly We use an online textbook and accompanying curriculum from Cengage. The website for their resources in NGLsync.cengage.com Students liked getting a head start and as much knowledge as possible in high school Students like the option to take the course for college credit All students commented either maybe or yes that they are considering majoring in Accounting in college

So, what are some suggestions? Offer to speak about Accounting at your local high schools - you could offer to do presentations to students AND teachers Is there a high school curriculum that you recommend to teachers - one that students enjoy and find easy to do? Students seem to like our online textbook and accompanying curriculum from Cengage. The website for their resources in NGLsync.cengage.com Think about doing some kind of summer camp or competition event for students interested in Accounting on your campus Reach out to high school counseling offices and ask them to send the information to the business teachers If there is a way to keep any programming free, low-cost, or have scholarships available, more students will be able to take part Could your campus partner with high schools to offer credit for courses? Doing so may create a pipeline from those schools to yours.

Suggestions Cont. Present your program in ways that get high school students interested Exciting guest speakers at high schools AP Accounting? Highlight salary and career pathways Connecting Accounting to Finance