Students get business training to mark King Holiday

By Sydia Bell

In honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) invited students from the business academy at Benjamin E. Mays High School to spend Jan. 18 at th PwC Atlanta offices for a discussion on vision and success.

Students participated in a conversation with current PwC employees where they were able ask questions pertaining to office culture, the functions of a professional service firm, job roles and how they could best prepare themselves for a career in the field. After watching Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” students then created their own vision boards and were invited to share their dreams with the class.

This is not the first year students have come to the PwC offices, said Diversity Leader Melisa Cook. She said the visit was part of a long-standing relationship and commitment with the school and community in hopes of recruiting more minorities into the accounting program. Students come for visits, but they also meet with members of PwC’s Black Affinity group on a quarterly basis for training courses in specific, customizable subjects at their school.

For students like Jh’Twoi – N’Jai Rolle, a self-described “math fanatic” who has plans on majoring in either business administration or accounting, visiting the PwC office made her decision a little easier. “I’m actually looking forward to going to college and studying accounting, because I like the PwC firm and everything they are all about.” Even for students like the artistically inclined Darius Floyd, who thought accounting was boring, had a change of heart and said it could be a career option.

For Melisa Cook and the employees at PwC, this is only a part of their ongoing service to the community. In a continued effort, PwC offices nationwide have dedicated one million hours of community service for the next five years to focus on youth education.