Do not delay explorations until college.
October 24, 2019 — Recently, NATS Tampa had organized a town-hall meeting where I had the privilege of presenting our findings to a group of high-school students and their parents, on how students may prepare for career success in industries of the future.
In our journey with AlligatorZone, we have learned that a vast majority of college-bound students start with undeclared majors and start exploring the world only after they start college. Our AlligatorZone events, where students and startups come together in meeting rooms to have conversations are one of the greatest forms of exploration you can find, and lately, we see high-school students taking an active part in our programs.
Here’s an excerpt from The Hechinger Report that’s worth highlighting.
Nine out of 10 incoming freshmen think they’ll graduate with a bachelor’s degree in four years or less, according to an annual national survey conducted by a research institute at UCLA. But the U.S. Department of Education reports that only 41 percent of them do. The average student takes 4.4 years to earn a bachelor’s degree from a research university and 4.8 years from all other kinds of institutions, the advocacy group Complete College America says.
Changing majors is a huge contributor to this. It means many students end up taking courses they don’t need, then scurrying to complete the ones they do. The result is that bachelor’s degree recipients take and pay for 15 credits, on average — an entire semester — more than they need, according to Complete College America. Some give up altogether.
Explorations delayed till college come at a steep cost, both financial and emotional. Such delayed exploration also impacts student-debt.
That is why AlligatorZone has started an awareness campaign for both students, as well as parents, so that families know there’s affordable help.
I appreciate the invitation from NATS Tampa for this town-hall meeting. They do phenomenal work in Tampa Bay.
Given below is a synopsis of the talk, for those students who missed the session.
It’s hard to seek internships when an employer does not know what differentiates you from others seeking internship.
That is why it is important to think of personal branding.
Personal branding can be about something personal, such as a hobby.
The idea is to provide a peek into your mind, by communicating your thoughts, your ideas, your projects, and your view of your world.
This need not be a high-maintenance endeavor. It could be something as simple as a blog.
What is hard is to know what to write in your blog.
The important thing is to learn how to write like a marketer — to influence, inform and impact your audience in a positive manner. After all, we are selling the idea of having an employer give us that internship position, or we are selling the idea of a college official grant us admission to that coveted seat.
That is where the exploration programs of AlligatorZone help. They help you add substance to your style in whatever you create.
Whatever you create is incomplete until you document it.
The next thing to do is to explore where your values will align with how different industries operate, to figure out where you might like to make an impact.
To make an impact, find out what comes naturally to you and what kind of skills you need to develop.
Last, but not the least, learn about a variety of things with an open mind.
Ideas from completely unrelated areas may help you solve a problem in a unique manner.
Some of the parents approached me for one-on-one coaching, so if you want that, please feel free to reach out to me.
ALTPicture credit: NATS Tampa
Other parents expressed interest in our home-based program.
Finding the right information and making various pieces of the puzzle fit to tell a coherent story, is the hardest part.
That is one of the areas where AlligatorZone helps you.
We believe that one can effectively begin on this exploration in the 8th grade. However, I have seen even 5th graders do really well. Our youngest subscriber right now, is a 9 year old girl, who is doing really well.
College students who are still with undeclared majors, or undecided and switching majors, will also find AlligatorZone incredibly valuable.
In other words, it is never too early and never too late to join AlligatorZone.
We believe in the power of story-telling to create hooks for students to start exploring.
That is why we launched AlligatorZone’s at-home program.
High-school students in the audience mentioned that the school counselors mainly provide advice on colleges.
There aren’t many resources to explore the world of work and industry, they say. Our home-based explorations may be a good place to start by visiting https://AlligatorZone.org/programs.
If you think this talk and the ensuing discussions will help your high-school cohort or your middle-school students, contact us and AlligatorZone will present a special townhall meeting for your school.
