YAB Alumni Viewpoints

"Yes my decision to major in Public Accounting was greatly influenced by attending the Summer Business Camp.  Being a CFO for one of my teams gave me a preview of what life as an accountant could be like. The Summer Business Camp forced me to learn and apply many complex ideas in a short period of time.  You are also forced to figure things out on your own with minimal help.  In many ways the Summer Business Camp had a similar environment to that of College and was therefore able to prepare me for the tough roads ahead."

"Yes, the summer Business Camp played a role regarding my major.  As a Communications and International Relations major, I am required to be able to think on my feet as well as be able to prepare a  document or a presentation within a short period of time. Through business camp, I was able to interact with many individuals from the  business field and gain a better understanding with communicating with professionals in an atmosphere that most high school students are not privy to. In addition, through all the information-gathering  from reading and analyzing companies and having deadlines to construct a  report for either a venture capitalist or a fortune 500  company, I became more accustomed to working with my peers as well as being able to work efficiently."

"Yes, the business camp has helped me declare my major in college.  The summer Business camp has helped me in preparation for college because I learned and got to experience a taste of how college life will be. The independence, being on time for everything, being up late nights to make sure my work is perfect, power point and my presentation skills. Besides this, The Youth About Business Camp has helped me notice that I want to become an entrepreneur in my future."

"I would say the Summer Business Camp really stimulated my interest in the business world, I do believe everything I learned through my experience helped narrow my field of interest down. I knew I wanted to do something with numbers and money after going through the Summer Business Camp, and there is no better major than the one I've chosen. The Summer Business Camp greatly helped me prepare for college. I really learned how to schedule my time effectively after going through the program. I also tried to perform at my highest potential because I learned through the camp that the business world is very competitive, and to stay on top you have to work harder and harder each and every day."

"The Youth About Business Summer Business Camp is a very challenging week filled with new experiences. I believe that the program prepared me for college in several ways. First, the camp is set up as a competition. College is a very competitive atmosphere, and I believe the camp prepared me for this aspect. Secondly, the camp itself is held at very prestigious universities and there is an opportunity to get a taste of the dorm, the long walks to class, and the cafeterias. The interactions with the camp executives is also unique in that it helped build self confidence and communication skills. College professors do not seem intimidating after dining with executives. Finally, I believe that the camp attracts a diverse group of students. The camp requires and encourages the students to work with students from different backgrounds. Also, by bringing together a diverse group, the student is exposed to a more realistic picture of the college atmosphere and the world."

"It introduced me to certain business majors that I was interested in but in the end I'm still undecided.  Summer Business Camp allowed me to see the business world through the eyes of the people who are involved within it. The camp also enabled me to take interest in certain business majors such as marketing and accounting."

"YAB SBC helped me in the following manners:

• instilled strong moral and ethical values
• given me a strong direction for my academic future
• set me above my peers by teaching me key terms and ideas about the financial world
• taught me essential critical thinking skills
• exposed me to different environments that are foreign to many people from similar backgrounds as myself
• intensified my competitive nature
• strengthened my drive and determination for success
• inspired me to help others

"Yes, by being assigned different roles in the company each year, no matter the case, it allowed me to see what I was good at, and liked doing.

"Like college, at camp we had a great deal of responsibility as far as getting ourselves to sessions and meetings on time, being responsible enough to not stay up all night so that we could get up on time in the morning. When I got to school, I was able to apply the same habits I had been using the previous three years at camp to my schedule at school."

"Yes, before the camp I wanted to be a Computer Science Major but exposure to the business world has given a love of business and economics. The summer business camp prepared me for college and my future by providing demanding and rigorous cases that gave me insight into what will be expected of me in college and in the business world. Also, the fact that I was CEO 3 times gave me invaluable leadership skills."

"Yes, I had no interest in pursuing a career in business prior to attending the Summer Business Camp. The Summer Business Camp instilled in me a hard work ethic that is necessary to succeed in college, and in intense careers such as Investment Banking.  I currently have offers on the table for more than one IBank and I give thanks to YAB and the lessons it taught me at a prime stage in my life."

"YAB truly exemplified the saying, 'You can do anything you put your mind to'. There I was walking into a program about something about which I knew close to nothing - only that I was reasonably interested. Luckily my interest grew greatly as I learned more, and I think I had a relatively successful run. This shows me that there is absolutely no reason to feel intimidated by any challenge so long as you invest your resources for dealing with said challenge properly - whether that challenge be a m&a negotiation or a college class or a big debate."

"Summer Business Camp definitely helped me channel my interest in business more towards the finance side as opposed to other outlets. Leadership opportunities within the camp, provided me with a working knowledge of the financial literacy and their inter-workings - most peers just get the terms and definitions and don't get a true understanding of their meaning until late Junior year in college... I could understand what was going on in M&A activity or on CNBC when I watched it, and it put a very real life aspect to what was really going on in the world of business once I understood the terms and the players."

"As a result of affiliation with YAB I am now able to understand many aspects of business that I previously knew little or nothing about. The knowledge I gained through the YAB program has enabled me to take part in a startup company, not just partaking in developing the technical aspect, but also advising the business side of things, such as writing the business plan. Currently the main focus is attaining sufficient funding from Angel Investors and Venture Capital firms to proceed with successfully creating and launching our services."

"It helped  influence my decision to major in the communications field because I while attending the camp, I learned how critical it is to network with others and effectively communicate ideas to others.  Thus, I chose to major in a program, which allowed me to enhance my communication skills because I believe it is vital to succeed in the business world.
"This camp was more rigorous, demanding and challenging that most of my high school, and some of my college courses.  At first, the information overload was intimidating, but through repetition and hands on activities where we actually negotiated mergers, acquisitions, and leveraged buyouts, I learned a great deal about the business world and how decisions are made.  The program teaches students how business deals are financed, and enables students to understand how to conduct due diligence, analyze annual reports including balance sheets, and become more familiar with the business terminology by explaining what ebitda, revenue, debt analysis, profit margin, and outstanding shares of a company are.  These are just a few of the terms that we learned.  I have a much better understanding when I read articles in the paper about companies being bought out using stock and/or cash.  The camp also helped me learn how to utilize the strengths of my team members so that we could maximize productivity and be successful in our endeavors."

"The Summer Business camp has and continues to shape me as a person. Entering college as a freshman and just leaving the Business Camp, I learned to go into school thinking outside of the “Box” and to never settle for good because I have the potential to be great in all that I do. The program has taught me a lot about time management and how important time is in the work field. Based on the leadership of the program and my participation with the program I plan on becoming a very successful CEO someday in the Business industry. I also plan on funding this program and programs like this in order to secure the next generation of executives after me."

"I always knew what i wanted to do, and that is working on human rights, but I joined the business camp because it is not solely directed towards Economics or Business majors; it gives an equal opportunity for students of all endeavors.  Honestly, it has been my sole mean of understanding the business world.  Although it remains a complex topic in my mind because I have only attended two years worth of the camp, I owe everything I know about the business world to the YAB program."

"Participating in the Summer Business Camp Helped influence my major because it allowed me to realize that I wanted to have a successful career in business. It helped me and my overall understanding of business because the program placed me in real life business situations that helped me gain valuable knowledge."

"The Summer Business Camp hasn't influenced me in choosing my major but has influence me to study other majors to become well rounded. The camp thought has help me increase my understanding of the business world in many different aspects. It has thought me to study a company portfolio and to always to of new ways to market product. Because marketing is the key to success."