Hello,
Can anyone point me to any clubs or programs for high schoolers interested in business/finance that do not require your high school to have a chapter? (S23 high school has nothing to offer in this area. He thought of starting something but there’s no interest among the teachers or student body . It’s a STEM-heavy school.) We’re in Norcal BTW. Seems like there must be some way for him to engage with business concepts to show interest, etc. in preparation for potentially applying to undergrad B-school.
He doesn’t need a club. Just getting a job shows interest!
really? That’s not what I read on admissions website. He would like a job. 3 season varsity sports make it nearly impossible.
Some of these clubs are really just fluff- and adcom’s know it. My local HS’s business club (chapter of some national organization) has the kids sit around and read the Wall Street Journal, and then plan a “fundraiser” for chapter dues. Not sure how valuable these activities are vs. volunteering, tutoring, mowing lawns, or doing any other normal HS activities which teach responsibility, showing up even when you don’t feel like it, etc.
1 Like
I hope you’re right and I agree that they are mostly fluff. A good DECA or FBLA program would be great but none at our school.
I’ve posted before about a kid in my neighborhood who saw the line that formed outside a local food pantry this past winter and decided to do something about it. With pretty basic programming skills (or so he told me) he created a signup site so that recipients could get a 15 minute window where they could come up pick up their groceries. They could designate low-salt, vegan, gluten free or whatever dietary restrictions they had.
He “sold” the organization on the idea, then set up the site, then offered technical assistance for anyone having trouble using it (a couple of elderly recipients kept locking themselves out by inadvertently signing up for multiple packages a day-- the kid would sit with them on the phone until they logged in correctly). Also worked with the delivery vans so that the fresh produce arrived in time instead of showing up half an hour before the place closed-- which often resulted in a LOT of spoiled fresh food.
And during Covid, folks no longer had to stand outside, 6 feet apart, waiting in all kinds of weather. Just a dignified, time efficient way to get their packages.
You don’t think this is more impressive to an adcom for a business program than joining a club? If your son is interested in business, and doesn’t have the bandwidth for a job, can he find a local problem and set out to fix it??? That’s real life business training!
2 Likes
My school has a FBLA(Future business leaders of America) that students really enjoy, though I don’t know a lot about it, it’s worth checking out!
Mine (graduated HS in '16) took an Intro to Business class at the local CC one summer. He also started a KIVA club at his school. And he also participated in a local entrepreneur workshop (one summer afternoon) that was available free to anyone in the community.
You could google or ask your local economic development office if there’s anything like that in your area. We now also have classes to anyone who wants to grow a business. At the end, they submit proposals and some get funded.
There is no FBLA chapter in our area. I wish there were.
I’m what is KIVA? Can he join without there being a local chapter?
As I mentioned there is nothing business oriented in our area. Its literally all STEM.
https://www.kiva.org/ Kiva is a non profit organization that anyone can donate to. I don’t know a lot about it, but I think you essentially provide small loans to people in underdeveloped countries to help them grow their business and be self sufficient. S started a club at their school so they could raise $$$ and choose who they invested with.
S also did a lot of learning on his own. He would buy/grow/sell Twitter websites. He has a lot of unusual stories from that. And he dabbled in creating several online stores (that weren’t very successful, lol).