Blog
By Mark Dunetz
President
New Visions for Public Schools
Part of growing up is thinking about what you might want to do for a living. That is hard to do in a meaningful way without visiting a workplace, talking with people who do the work, and hearing their stories. But many – if not most – students in New York City, never get those chances during high school.
That’s the idea behind our Career Academy program: to create structured opportunities for students to shadow professionals in diverse work environments, to talk with working people about what it takes to get where they are, and to build through firsthand experience the sort of durable skills that will make them competitive candidates for jobs and internships.
It sounds simple. Students are brilliant and curious. They have talented and motivated teachers. And New York City has one of the most robust business communities in the world with employers across every sector. Given all of that, a program that connects students to industry professionals should be easy to build.
It is not.
A lot of people have to come to the table to make work-based learning at scale a reality. Students have to stretch themselves, walk into unfamiliar places, network, ask questions, and spend time around adults in settings they have not experienced before. School staff have to coordinate transportation and permission slips, establish expectations with students and families, collaborate with intermediaries like New Visions on programming, and take time away from the classroom to chaperone. And perhaps most critically, corporate leaders have to open their doors to students, find time in their busy work days to participate, and devote the financial resources that ensure a quality experience for everyone involved.
Last week, we celebrated five years of this work at our first Career Academy Expo, an evening honoring the corporate partners who have opened their doors to make our Career Academies possible and elevating the voices of students and instructors who have found immense value in these opportunities. We recognized five honorees this year: iCapital, Evercore, Centerview, Lazard, and Silver Lake, for the time and access they gave our students.
Over 2,750 students from 45 public high schools across New York City have come through the academies. Nearly 1,200 corporate volunteers have given their time.
A few moments from the Expo have stayed with me. Students remembered specific quotes and advice from the volunteers who worked with them, sometimes years after their Career Academy ended. Whether they attended a school in the Financial District or a Queens-based transfer school for students who have fallen off track and need additional support, the program expanded their social capital. It connected them to people they would otherwise never have had in their networks. And these connections built through the program, between students and mentors, instructors, and each other, lasted well beyond the program itself.
I also observed that whether students were interested in finance or not, the program broadened their view of their future possibilities. It challenged them to build and apply transferable skills. They saw how people in professional spaces carried themselves, how it was okay to still show up authentically. And the experience gave them a concrete asset on their resumes to leverage in the future.
If this resonates with you, help us keep the momentum going. The success of the Career Academies depends on businesses opening their doors. Sign up to volunteer for a career connected learning opportunity, such as a virtual panel or an in person office visit. Connect us with a leader at your company to talk about a partnership. Or make a donation to expand access for the next cohort of students.
It’s far too late for students to start thinking about their career goals after they graduate high school. But it takes employers working together with the education system to open that door while there’s still time. Get in touch.
