The magazine for alumni and friends of the UB School of Management
Issue link: http://ubschoolofmanagement.uberflip.com/i/168939
Autumn.2013Final_layout 8/1/13 12:48 PM Page 27 Photos: Tom Wolf Kids and Careers Umjuma Kashouwal (right) presents on her future career as a teacher. Future nurse Lidya Habtezion looks on. A group of undergraduate students in the school's Management Volunteer Program (MVP) spent part of the spring semester providing important business lessons to sixth-grade students at Buffalo Public School (BPS) 45. BPS 45 is Buffalo's International School, serving a large refugee community. The 780 students come from more than 70 countries and speak more than 30 different languages. Caitlin Rush, undergraduate program manager with the School of Management's Frank L. Ciminelli Family Career Resource Center, is MVP's coordinator and worked with BPS 45 and Junior Achievement (JA) of Western New York to develop a program that would appeal to the kids. The 13 MVP volunteers used JA's Economics for Success curriculum that incorporates hands-on activities to teach lessons on personal finance and career exploration. Alycia Ivancie, senior education manager at JA's Buffalo office, was grateful to hear from the School of Management. "We were seeking to do more middle-school outreach, so Caitlin reached out at just the right time." As part of the Economics for Success experience, more than a dozen professionals, including School of Management alumni, spoke at a Career Day for the students, encompassing occupations such as nurse, retail manager, firefighter, engineer, beautician and IT specialist. The sixth graders then researched their own potential careers and presented their future professions at a Reverse Career Day to BPS 45 students in kindergarten through third grade. Anna Kleyman, one of the school's counselors, was thrilled with the program. "The sixth graders truly felt empowered and owned what they learned," she says. "What could be a better way to determine the success of this project than hearing a sixth grader Undergraduates provide career advice to Buffalo public school students say, 'I think I changed their lives today!' when describing his presentation to the younger kids." The program also benefited the management students. "MVP provides undergraduate students with experiential learning through volunteerism," Rush says. "This experience helped them develop the skills we are promoting, such as social responsibility, time management, communication, leadership, diversity awareness, integrity and motivation." Cynthia Shore, senior assistant dean for alumni and external relations, also sang the project's praises. "The collaboration between our undergraduates and Junior Achievement to help Buffalo public school students is an excellent example of how the School of Management is living out its commitment to making a meaningful impact on the greater Buffalo community." x — Cathy Wilde Abdi Salim tells his teacher Andrew Fletcher about his future career as a sports manager. Autumn 2013 Buffalo Business 27