September 2000

More Than 100 Complete COAP Summer Residency

Valuable developmental skills, including networking, goal-setting and oral communication skills, were learned by 63 students at Pace University and 38 students at Hofstra during the intensive sessions of a summer accounting residency program.

Sponsored by the NYSSCPA, FAE, and other academic and professional accounting contributors, the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program took place at Pace from June 25-29 and at Hofstra from June 24-28.

The COAP program is a week-long college residency program for minority high school juniors. Students participate in workshops that cover topics such as finance and accounting, computers, and verbal communication skills. Participants also go on field trips to local public accounting, industry, and government offices.

Preparation for this year’s residency program began with sending applications to high school guidance counselors in January of this year, followed by scheduling student interviews with COAP board members in April, and continued with arranging the curriculum throughout May and June.

This year, students found their classes applicable to their upcoming senior year at high school and also to the mammoth task of applying to colleges. Other classes that were very beneficial to the students included business ethics, business writing, interviewing skills, and an etiquette workshop dinner.

These classes went a step beyond, exploring skills the students will need to possess during and after their college years. The classes also gave the students an idea of what to expect when they enter the professional world.

One of the most important and fun experiences for the students completing the five-day residency is the day that participants go on field trips to visit various accounting firms. The group from Pace University went to Stamford, CT, where they toured PricewaterhouseCoopers, Arthur Andersen, and Deloitte & Touche. Students from Hofstra went to Long Island, where they visited Margolin, Winer Evens, and Deloitte & Touche.

During the trips, students had a chance to learn about each firm and see exactly what a CPA's work environment is like. Students from Hofstra also visited J.P. Morgan, where they participated in a candy bar trading game. Both programs went to the Federal Reserve, and both programs went on an industry field trip: students from Pace went to PepsiCo, while students from Hofstra toured Computer Associates.

Many COAP Board members were present during the week at both residency programs, including New York City COAP Chair Pat Adams, Lynne Byrne, Bob Rosario, Dan Stubbs, Patricia Creekmore, Tai Danmola, Yvonne Harris Jones, James Brown, Theresa Clark-Messer, Vonda Simon, Arlene Isaacs-Lowe, and Gene Maccarrone.

The COAP residency programs ended with a reception and banquet, which featured keynote speakers. Glenn Deans, the keynote speaker at Hofstra, is a partner with Deans Archer & Co.; Tony Kendall, the Pace keynote speaker, is a managing partner with Mitchell & Titus. Both are members of the COAP Advisory Board.

The National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) presented the Society with a check for the COAP program during a ceremony at the Pace banquet.

At the conclusion of the program, Long Island COAP Board Chair Ed McDougal commented that "overall, this [year's participants] were a very focused class. Once again COAP opened the students' eyes and gave them a chance to see the opportunities available to them in accounting and business. Many attendees also realized that they have the abilities necessary to be successful in those arenas if they tap their full potential."