Week 6

Another awesome week has come and gone in the Frisco High ISM program. I have continued to research colleges and careers centered around investigative journalism and have continued searching for professionals within the field to interview.

The most exciting part of the week, however, was the ISM Business Symposium on Friday. This is an event in which 60 professionals from around the Dallas area meet with ISM students to discuss their fields and share professional advice. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that although this was my second symposium to be a part of, as an ISM 2 student, I still gained incredible advice and had a fantastic time. The main point of the symposium is to help the ISM students grow professional skills in the interview setting. The professionals I spoke with told me that my confidence, responses and manners were all strong, but I needed to remove filler words. I plan to follow this advice in upcoming interviews within and outside of the ISM program.

Another fantastic part of the symposium was the opportunity to talk to ISM students from other schools. It was greatly encouraging and inspiring to hear about the goals, dreams and plan of other motivated high school students. At this age, peers typically focus on less important topics, and it is highly unusual to hear the true heart of an individual. Hearing from them gave me excitement about my generation's future, as well as motivation to continue pursuing my own goals.

After the symposium, I was given the opportunity, along with three other ISM students from the district, to attend lunch with and personally thank the professionals who attended the symposium. It was extremely considerate of these individuals to take time off work in order to help young entrepreneurs on their journeys to change the world.

The ISM Business Symposium was an unforgettable experience. I could not be more thankful for the time and advice of the professionals.