To continue the series of Why Career Academies?, Academy of Finance student, Ramya Vemuri writes,

“When you initially hear about the Academy of Finance, you automatically surmise that it is solely centralized on developing the financial skills of high school juniors and seniors. You assume that we learn how to construct personal balance sheets and cash inflow/outflow statements. You can expect students to learn the different methods of investing, crucial types of insurance to purchase, and the importance of saving early for retirement, among many other things. However, this is only a small part of the wealth of information that this Academy provides its students. The Academy of Finance takes that extra step to allow its students to attain necessary and valuable “real world” skills. Students are taught public speaking, interview and leadership skills, and even how to effectively network. In fact, once every month there is an advisory board meeting, in which prominent members of the community visit the Academy of Finance to discuss various financial and business-related concepts. This gives the students a chance to practice professionalism and business tactics taught in class, while networking and gaining exclusive insight into the various occupations offered within the business/financial world. This particular fact of the class ruled in my favor, as I was able to connect with one of the advisory board members and earn a position on the Bright Minds Foundation Executive Board as Youth Representative. Through this, I was able to help reduce the gap of educational disparity that existed within Howard County by helping numerous students attain their educational aspirations despite their financial backgrounds. There are also various other programs and activities that students partake in as well, including the Academy of Finance Executive Board which raises money for a non-profit organization, maintaining the school store, the Personal Finance Challenge competition in which students participate in state/national competitions with the help of a professional mentor to answer questions regarding personal finance, and many more. Not only has this class offered me a plethora of opportunities, but it also enabled me to meet students from all across the county who maintained similar interests to that of mine. I was even able to make long-lasting friendships and develop a second family.”