Written by: Lucy Orr, student intern with Horizon Point Consulting My name is Lucy Orr. I am going into my senior year in high school and I am interning with Horizon Point Consulting this summer. For many high schoolers, summertime means time for a summer job. For several summers, I have wanted a summer job that will give me experience in and exposure to many fields. At this point, I do not know what I want to do in my future career- there are so many options! Because my junior year was cut short due to the pandemic, I have
Did you know that Alabama has a “College Application Campaign”? A statewide initiative with the goal of having EVERY high school senior in the state apply to at least one college. I found this out last week thanks to the high school guidance counselor’s weekly email blast. I’ll be honest, as an HR professional, I had to hold myself back from sending her an email outlining the negative impact of such a campaign. I’m still tempted to. I graduated high school many moons ago, in an era when high schools still had classes like shop, mechanics, and electrical design. I
The diamond on my ringer finger I can thank in part to a teenager engaging in summer work. My husband worked during the summer every year starting at age fifteen. And although I wasn’t even on his radar at age 15, nor do I think marriage to anyone was at that point in time, his hard work and savings from that hard work led to a lovely diamond on my hand that he paid cash for. He worked painting schools, mowing grass, driving a forklift at a lumber yard and building tree stands while in high school. His college work
I’ve been asked to speak to a group of high school student leaders this week. I’m always open to almost any topic the organizers want me to cover that I have expertise in. In this case, what started off as a talk about communication skills morphed into talking about building confidence. The adult leader said that she felt as though this was a challenge for most youth of today. I see this point and also see where there are a variety of factors contributing to it. One factor that I see related to both challenges in communication skills and confidence is the
One of the things I like to do most is help students consider what would maximize their learning and experiences in preparation for the working world. I recently had lunch with a student who is majoring in business and thinking about concentrating in Human Resources. She is bright, well-rounded and is exploring multiple possibilities. She asked good questions about what to consider, and I found myself offering this advice that I would offer to most college students, in particular, business school students: 1. Study or work abroad at some point before you graduate. I know the cost of this