March 2000

Chapter One-on-One Programs Continue to Grow

Suffolk Members Encourage Students to Become CPAs

Editor's Note: In the last several months, a number of NYSSCPA chapters have started or reactivated the "One-on-One Program," which brings CPAs into local classrooms to expose students to accounting careers. Below is an article on the Suffolk Chapter's activities. To learn more about opportunities in your area, contact your local chapter president or NYSSCPA Recruitment Specialist Sanjay Paranandi at (212) 719-8364, (800) 633-6320, or sparanandi@nysscpa.org.

The NYSSCPA Suffolk Chapter's new high school visitation program continues to be a great success. At the beginning of the school year, we mailed letters to high school business departments in Suffolk County, suggesting they contact us if they were interested in having chapter representatives visit their business and accounting high school students to present the advantages of a career in the accounting profession.

The teachers were very interested in adding "real life" experiences to their classroom lessons and looked forward to our visits. Visits began in October and will continue as the school year progresses; we have visited 14 high schools thus far. Teacher responses indicate that students continued to discuss our visit in subsequent classes and that we may have swayed some students in the direction of accounting as a career path. It was interesting to learn that many schools offer college accounting courses, where students earn credits toward their undergraduate degree. In addition, some schools offer internships, allowing students to gain hands-on experience at local firms and businesses.

Special thanks go to our Suffolk Chapter volunteers: Frank Bland, John DeFalco, Harold Deiters, Cynthia Finn, Ralph Kubicsko, Bob Mayer, Scott Meyer, Tom Murray, Joe Nagy, and Jim Preston, who have made an outstanding contribution to this program, offering unique experiences from their career paths. It is very rewarding to know that we may have assisted some students in selecting a career path. *

Lisa Martinelli is chair of the NYSSCPA Suffolk Chapter Membership Recruitment Committee and senior accountant at Sheehan & Co. CPAs PC.