Finance Field Day

More than 200 high school juniors and seniors and their teachers from eight Prince George's County public schools gathered at the Smith School on April 15 for Finance Field Day. Finance Field Day activities helped the crowd of mostly African-American and Latino students learn how to position themselves for careers in the fields of accounting or finance. The students were all participants in their high school’s Academy of Finance, a nationally accredited program that prepares students for careers in the financial service industry through coursework and work experience.

"Finance Field Day is part of our larger Smith Talent Acquisition and Referral System (STARS) program to increase diversity in the undergraduate program by attracting, admitting, retaining, and graduating students from underserved populations," says Patricia Cleveland, assistant dean of undergraduate studies at the Smith School.

Mary Ajetunmobi '04 describes her job at Ernst & Young.

Through presentations and hands-on workshops, aspiring business school students got a taste of what they could expect at the Smith School. Mary Ajetunmobi ’04, now a manager with Ernst & Young’s McLean Assurance practice, described her choices of internships and courses, why she chose to work with Ernst & Young, her daily working life and the corporate culture at her firm. It was a detailed picture that helped her young audience imagine how their own careers might develop.

Also instructive were the experiences of Teonna Lonon, a Smith senior. Lonon, like the students attending Finance Field Day, hailed from a Prince George’s County school—Charles H. Flowers High School, which sends many students to Smith. Lonon talked about the supportive and challenging environment she encountered at the Smith School, and described the kinds of activities she participated in on campus. Lonon interned with Ernst & Young and will join the firm full-time upon graduation.

And students even got some career advice: Marie Accius, campus recruiter from Ernst & Young, explained her industry and talked about opportunities in the field. “Start thinking about your job search from the minute you come to campus,” she advised. “Don’t wait till your junior year.” Accius also introduced the concept of networking and relationship-building, urging students to become part of one of the many organizations on campus that provide support and mentoring for minority students.

Charles LaHaie, director of accounting and  finance technology and applications, helps a visiting  high school student in the Finance Lab.

The visitors got hands-on experience in the school's Financial Markets Laboratory, analyzing stocks and assessing their investment potential using real-time and historical data. The students worked in small groups with mentors from Smith’s Finance Fellows program, under the direction of Charles LaHaie, director of accounting and finance technology and applications, to compile information that will later be expanded on back in their high school classes. In preparation for this lab, Lahaie led a teacher in-service workshop on Reuters and Bloomberg for teachers from the public schools that are partnered with the Smith School through the National Academies of Finance.

“Chuck was recognized this year for his outstanding efforts in creating instructional materials and crafting the laboratory simulations for Finance Field Day for the past eight years,” says Cleveland.

The day was packed with activities, including building tours and student panel discussions, but Smith School student mentors still had the opportunity to talk to students one-on-one, answering questions. It was a field trip that some teachers described as the highlight of the year for their classes. Students agreed. “I think the stock market information was most useful for me,” said Markus Proctor, a senior at Flowers High School, “because I plan to do something like that in the future.”