University at Buffalo Introduces Minority High School Students to Accounting Careers

Cool news out of Buffalo: in conjunction with the Foundation for Accounting Education of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), the University at Buffalo School of Management will be hosting a five-day program for local minority high school students. Ranked by Wall Street Journal and Business week as one of the nation’s top accounting schools, the University of Buffalo will be using its reputation for good by introducing students to business career paths and college choices to which they may otherwise never have been exposed.

Approximately 30 students from area schools are expected to attend the fourth annual Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession Program (COAP) from June 28 to July 2.

The program will feature a comprehensive series of breakout sessions designed to provide participants with insights into all the components of an accounting education and career. Sessions will be held in the UB School of Management.

A number of area accounting firms will give presentations on campus, and students will make off-site visits to Lumsden & McCormick, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Rich Products, where they will take company tours and speak with accounting representatives from those firms.

In addition to speeches and field trips, students will have the chance to engage in constructive courses and workshops, games, and even business lunches, all designed to teach everything from business etiquette to appropriate workplace fashion. Students who participated in previous years had great things to say about the level of help and inspiration given throughout the program:

“COAP nudged me out of my comfort zone and helped me to strengthen my public speaking skills,” said Marcella Ramirez, who attended the program last fall as a senior from Orchard Park High School. “It also demonstrated the importance of networking,” she added. Ramirez plans to attend UB in the fall.

The goal of the program is to increase student awareness of accounting as a viable — not to mention interesting! — career choice, as well as to enlighten them on the many opportunities an accounting degree can provide and what they can do to get there. Judging by the students’ glowing reviews, it seems to be working.

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