ACCOUNTING CAREER AWARENESS IN THE CLASSROOM, CONT.

Samantha Goss, Fennimore High School, for the Accounting I and II classes at FHS to travel to the Baraboo and Wisconsin Dells area for their annual Career Exploration Trip, visiting MBE CPAs in Baraboo and a variety of businesses in the Dells and Dodgeville.

“Throughout the trip, students were amazed by the variety of avenues they can take in business. They received great exposure to potential career paths and received a consistent message that internships, the ability to learn and the willingness to work are the keys to a successful career in business or accounting.”

Dave Haas, DeForest High School, for the Advanced Accounting class to tour American Family Field to learn how the Brewers organization has achieved success and Fiserv Forum to hear how accounting has helped the Bucks organization achieve success.

“I have been fortunate to receive this grant for the last five years, and the students look forward to this field trip. Every year after the trip, the students have a different takeaway about a career in accounting and realize it is not just sitting behind a desk and punching in numbers. I know that this field trip helps my recruitment every year to get more students to take accounting classes.”

Mary Helgemoe, Beaver Dam High School, to take 28 accounting students to a Milwaukee Brewers game and meet afterward with two of the Brewers organization’s CPAs to learn about their careers and why they chose accounting.

“I hope that my students will get the opportunity to see more inside information about what accountants and specifically CPAs do on a daily basis. They will get to witness firsthand what it is like to work for a major sports team and see the importance of what the accountants do. I ultimately hope that more of my students will choose a career in accounting and see that it is a fun and interesting career.”

Cynthia Jensen, Cambridge High School, to focus on finance careers and to purchase a lab simulation license from Knowledge Matters for a three-year agreement, which will focus on budgeting, checking account balancing, risk assessment and investments, time management, credit, insurance and personal taxes.

“I appreciate the grant so I can continue to prepare my students for real life after high school and to help promote the business and financial industries. This program will allow my finance students to see what skills are needed when they are on their own in college or the workplace after they have completed high school at Cambridge.”

Angela Ketter, Monona Grove High School, to purchase an online simulation program that will give students an opportunity to take what they have learned in class and apply it to a real-life accounting scenario, using online software that is similar to that used in the industry.

“This will be the second consecutive year that MGHS has used this excellent program to assess the learning that has taken place in the accounting classroom. We have been very impressed with the quality of the simulation, the customer service offered by Crunched Education, and the enthusiasm of our accounting students as they show what they have learned. We hope that with this experience, many of our accounting students will go on to pursue a career in the accounting field.”

Becky Marquardt, New London High School, for a bus trip to Milwaukee so students can hear from CPAs at Wipfli LLP about career opportunities in auditing and tax and then to Kohl’s Corporate headquarters in Menomonee Falls to learn about accounting and finance in the private sector.

“Students asked great questions and learned a great deal more about these areas of business.”

Alissa Mullikin, Wauzeka-Steuben Public Schools, to visit Craft Beverage Warehouse and the CPA firm Reilly, Penner and Benton in Milwaukee as well as the CPA firm of Sikich LLP in Brookfield to learn what CPAs do on a daily basis and how a career in accounting lead to business ownership.

“Coming from a small town, my students’ eyes were really opened! They loved seeing what a big firm has to offer. … Many students stated they really saw that accounting has a lot more to offer than they originally thought, and two students are even considering it now that were not before. Last year we also received the grant, and the students always walk away with a great eye-opening experience. We really appreciate the grant!”

Chad Roehl, Big Foot High School, for students to compete in the forensic accounting competition at Lakeland University; for a trip to Milwaukee to attend FBLA Day with the Milwaukee Bucks; and a field trip to Milwaukee in the fall to tour a CPA firm and speak with a panel of CPAs.

“This grant has been very useful to me in the past because it allows me to bring students out to experience and see the profession in person. I can speak about the multitude of options in my accounting classes, but seeing it firsthand is a much more meaningful experience. ”

Graig Stone, Sheboygan South High School, to fund four different projects: a field trip to UW-Oshkosh to see the campus and Accounting Department, participate in the Lakeland University forensic accounting competition and Junior Achievement’s “Titan Day,” and to purchase a mobile POS system for the high school’s store so students can complete transactions and manage inventory outside of the physical location.

“We are extremely grateful to the WICPA for this grant opportunity. Accounting often is seen as working in a cubicle and poring over spreadsheets. The ability to show students what real accountants do helps dispel that perception.”