High school students participating in the NABA Accounting Career Awareness Program were excited to discover college can be more than classes and coursework.  The annual National Association of Black Accountants event invites prospective students to experience life on the UofL campus and learn about Accountancy as a major and a career.   This year 30 students from across Kentucky participated. 

     “Our main objective is to increase the number of high school students from under represented ethnic groups that attend college and major in accounting,” said Mike Wade, co-chair of the program and part-time College of Business accountancy instructor. “We accomplish this by providing creative educational experiences, introducing students to people who have found success with their degree and by mixing in fun, social activities.”
     In addition to a variety of educational functions, the live-on-campus program’s social activities included a cook out, a movie, bowling and free time to hang out with new found friends. The students participated in everything from a college fair, scholarship prep, etiquette luncheon and ‘dress for success’ classes to accounting case studies, a team presentation and local accounting firms and corporations tours.
     “My favorite part was the tours of PricewaterhouseCoopers and GE,” said Josh Bland, a J-town High School sophomore.  “I liked seeing where I could work if I choose accounting.”
     Kaylyn Leslie, a junior at Louisville Male High School, seemed to enjoy every aspect.  “I liked talking to the professionals and learning about their everyday work.  The fact that they can have their own clients and never do the same thing day-to-day is really cool.  I liked that they get the chance to travel.”
     Although the participants are still trying to figure out what their future holds, the options grabbed their attention. “When I heard about ACAP at a Black Achievers meeting, I thought I needed to be apart of it,” Bland explained.  “I’m good at math and I know I want to go to college at UofL, so it’s a good opportunity to see what both are like.”
     With Leslie’s second year in the program, she admits there’s more than just accountancy on her mind.  “Even with a cold shower this morning, I still really enjoy living in a dorm.  It’s been so much fun to live on our own for a while.”
     Bland agreed.  “I’ve made a lot of friends here and we’re having a lot of fun.  So much fun we only got about four hours of sleep last night.”
     Students moved on campus Tuesday afternoon for the five-day experience.  For each dorm floor there is at least one volunteer chaperone available to answer any questions they might have. 
     “I love being a chaperone,” said Camille Moore, senior Accountancy major and president of the college’s NABA chapter.  “The students remind me of when I was younger and unsure what I wanted to do with my life.”
     Moore explained that having a college student as a chaperone brings another fun element of education to the experience.  “Since I’m closer in age, they feel more comfortable asking me questions,” Moore said with a smile.  “I’ve had all sorts of questions; anything from ‘what are your classes like?’ and ‘how hard is it?’ to ‘how fun is campus life?’ and ‘are there any cute boys?’”
     Fortunately, participants not only get to ask questions about campus life, but they get to experience it, too. “We chose UofL because the campus life is so alive here,” said William Minter, program facilitator.  “With the energy already here, we don’t have to generate as much of the cool experience and our kids get to see what a real campus is like.”
     This year’s student participants were from Louisville, Lexington, Cincinnati and the Hardin County area, and ranged from freshmen to seniors.  ACAP has been available to Kentucky students for 11 years, the last three of which have been held at UofL.  For more information about the program, contact Olivia Davis at (859) 608-1295 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

For information about NABA, visit www.NABAinc.org.

(Posted 6/9/08)