By Lelia Dickenson, Xiomara Fox, Joyce Lewis and Kim Patterson, COAP Coordinators

What do you want to do with your life?” It’s the eternal question asked of all high school students. Few of them actually know, but an even smaller number are likely to spend their precious summer months seriously trying to figure out the answer. Of course, there is always the exception to the rule, and the 108 motivated kids attending this year’s Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) progam proved to be the difference.

Held at Pace University, Hofstra University, State University of New York (SUNY)/Westchester Community College, Long Island University (LIU)-Brooklyn Campus, and, for the first time, Le Moyne College, COAP is a Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) five-day summer residency and commuter program that encourages high school students to consider a career in accounting. In addition to exposing kids to the business world and opportunities in the CPA profession, COAP also focuses on personal and professional development as well providing helpful guidance for college.

This year’s COAP program featured an impressive array of workshops, field trips and guest speakers. Though not every 2003 COAP graduate will become a CPA, each one, at the very least, has a big head start on what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

The following are just some of the highlights from the program:

Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y.
June 29–July 2

Twelve students attended the COAP commuter program at Le Moyne College, where, among other events, they participated in a “Dress for Success” workshop presented by Gail M. Kinsella, a member of the COAP Le Moyne Advisory Board. Kinsella and other staff members of Testone Marshall and Discenza LLP gave the young people pointers about appropriate business attire. The students also honed their public speaking and presentation skills by taking part in a seminar led by Mark D. Muhammad, an adjunct professor at Syracuse University. The kids practiced delivering speeches and critiqued one another’s work.

The Young CPAs Committee of the New York State Society of CPAs’ Syracuse Chapter also spoke to the attendees about the valuable art of professional networking. Field trips for the program included visits to Green and Seifter CPAs PLLC, Cadaret Grant & Company Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus
July 7–11

Seventeen students attended the COAP commuter program at Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus. Susanna Yurick revealed interesting secrets about networking, including the fact that many accountants are history and trivia buffs. She encouraged the kids to acquire as much career-related knowledge as they can, impressing upon them that successful networking involves an equal exchange of information.

Francesca C. Simon, a member of the COAP LIU Advisory Board, shared her writing expertise with the students to help them create their own biographies and resumes and have them begin to think about the college essays they will be required to write. She also stressed the importance of reading and keeping current with the news.

Newly inducted CPA Hall of Fame member Philip Wolitzer, an LIU professor of accountancy for more than 50 years, was the perfect speaker to address the timely topic of business ethics. COAP LIU Advisory Board members Patricia G. Wright, Dr. Myrna L. Fischman (an LIU accounting professor), Charles T. Foster, Raul Acosta, and Patrick Payano spoke as well. LIU Dean Kathy Waldron also made a special guest appearance, providing the kids with helpful advice for selecting the right college or university for their needs and interests.

The program included field trips to Roberts & Holland, LLP, Ernst & Young and KeySpan.

In the three weeks following the LIU COAP program, many of the participating students visited the Society’s headquarters in Manhattan for a series of evening seminars on communication skills and additional information about the accounting profession. Members of the COAP LIU Advisory Board, including Roy Weathers, Nicole Nelson, Francesca Simon and Chair Paul Wright, led the presentations.

SUNY/Westchester Community College in Valhalla, N.Y.
June 25–July 1

Seventeen students attended the COAP commuter program at Westchester Community College. In addition to accounting concepts and college preparation, the workshops covered a variety of topics, including interviewing and presentation skills, scholarships, internships, goal setting and business communications.

The teens made field trips to MasterCard, the Pepsi Bottling Group and BDO Seidman LLP. The kids met with different MasterCard department heads, including the CFO/controller of MasterCard, who spoke about entering the CPA profession, and encouraged them to work in public practice for several years after they receive their degree.

The finance division of the Pepsi Bottling Group gave the students a presentation on the inner workings of the company and spoke about their individual job responsibilities. The group also took a tour of the company’s facilities.

Young staff members of BDO Seidman gave the kids an inside look at the life of a CPA and talked to them about financial services, taxation, auditing and litigation support. During each night’s dinner, the students discussed the trips with the COAP counselors and board advisors to ensure that they got the most from the visits.

Westchester Community College President Dr. Joseph Hankin spoke at the awards dinner, as did former Society Vice President Ian M. Nelson, who gave the keynote address. During the dinner, parents and relatives of the COAP attendees and other invited guests mingled with instructors and COAP Westchester Advisory Board members, including Chair Frank A. Pellegrino, as they listened to the kids discuss their weeklong COAP experience and saw them receive a certificate of completion.

Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. 
June 28–July 2

Thirty students attended the COAP residency program at Hofstra University. The program featured events and activities similar to those at Le Moyne, LIU and Westchester Community College. COAP Hofstra Advisory Board members Dean Bennett and Richard Medina spoke about networking and business ethics, respectively. Arlene Isaac-Lowe and COAP Hofstra Advisory Board member Glenn N. Deans gave an accounting overview and discussed career opportunities in the field, while Dr. Anthony Basile, a member of Hofstra’s Accounting, Taxation and Business Law Department, covered technology in business and accounting.

Ulric Haynes, a former U.S. ambassador to Algiers and executive dean for university international relations at Hofstra University, gave the keynote address at the awards dinner that concluded the program.

Field trips included visits to KPMG, Margolin Winer & Evens LLP, Ernst & Young, Computer Associates and the Museum of American Financial History.

Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y.
June 28–July 2

Thirty-two high school juniors attended the COAP residency program at Pace University, where the workshops also focused on college preparation, the accounting profession, resume writing, teambuilding and networking. As is the case with Hofstra’s program, the residential component of the Pace COAP program allows the kids to experience being away from home and gives them a greater sense of campus life.

The students visited CPA firms and corporations, including Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, KPMG and MasterCard.

“My favorite activity was the trip to PwC. It was my first time visiting a big corporation, and their workshop gave me a lot of information to take to college,” said Shauna Hutson, a COAP participant and student at Business Magnet High School.
Rosemary Rodriguez, national president of the Association of Latin Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA), gave the keynote address at the awards dinner, held on the last day of the program at Pace’s New York City campus.

Delivering an emotional speech that chronicled her professional and personal journey and emphasized the importance of programs such as COAP that help inner-city youth, Rodriquez served as a great inspiration to the kids.

Benjamin Cordozo High School student Danitsa King perhaps best summed up this year’s COAP program experience.
“All of the activities we did throughout our stay were all great,” King said. “The counselors and sponsors made it all happen, so that we had the best time and learned at the same time.”

All five of the COAP programs included social activities and informal get-togethers in which the students got a chance to form new friendships.

COAP relies on the generosity and support of numerous individuals and organizations, including volunteers, the Academy of Finance, a nationwide career training program for high school students, the National Association of Black Accountants, ALPFA, the CPA profession, high schools and colleges, FAE and the COAP advisory boards

For more information about COAP, contact Bill Pape, associate director of member relations, at 212-719-8420 or at wpape@nysscpa.org.