Research Assessment 4

Date: ​October 11, 2019

Subject: ​The Business Symposium with Independent Study and Mentorship

Source: ​Personal experience at the Business Symposium.

Assessment:

In the present day, a crucial skill that is required of all individuals is the ability to

communicate and network with fellow professionals. I believe the Independent Study and

Mentorship (ISM) program in Frisco Independent School District is beneficial to students

because it introduces them to these essential workplace skills at a young age. A key way that the

ISM program accomplishes this is by holding events that allow students to practice networking,

like the Business Symposium.

This year the Business Symposium was conducted at Independence High School. The

events at the symposium consisted of networking with fellow ISM students, networking with

professionals, asking ISM alumni questions, and listening to a motivational speech by a guest

speaker. By networking with my peers, I gained valuable insight into the ISM course itself, and I

got to practice my networking skills. Acquiring the contacts of several of my peers in this course

will help me get any help that I may need in the future. The administrators, by having us practice

our networking skills with our peers, allowed us to develop our interviewing and networking

skills, which is integral for the ISM program. Furthermore, by interviewing and networking with

professionals, I improved upon my interviewing skills. This will help me throughout the course

of this year when I interview potential mentors, and even when I have a mentor. Networking

with professionals expanded my contacts, which will help me because I will know a professional
to contact if I ever need help. Networking is integral because it is an important skill in the

workplace, and practicing right now will only yield more positive results in the future. Moreover,

asking questions and being able to speak to ISM alumni was an invaluable learning experience. I

had many questions concerning the original work project, the final product, and the effects that

ISM has after high school. The two alumni present answered everyone’s questions thoroughly

and clarified many of the misconceptions about this course. I believe that this will help me

succeed in the future because I now know more about how the course works and I can take the

necessary steps to accomplish my goals. Lastly, the motivational speaker was an enjoyable part

of the Business Symposium experience. At first, I questioned how effective her speech would

be? However, her lively attitude drew me in when she was speaking, and consequently allowed

me to learn a lot from her. I learned that in order to achieve success in the future, you have to set

and plan out goals for different stages of your future. I also learned important résumé skills that I

will be able to apply for my college applications, my ISM journey, and my future job.

This experience was influential for me because I feel like it provided me the proper

insight that I needed in order to plan out what I want to do in the future. I questioned how

beneficial the Business Symposium experience would be for me? It will help me when I’m

researching the field of cardiology because now, by setting my own goals, I will be able to

accomplish more when diving into my field of study for my ISM journey. I found the Business

Symposium surprising because when I first heard about this experience, I thought it would not be

enlightening and that it would be a drag. However, my experience from the Business Symposium

has been quite the opposite. I learned a lot about networking and interviewing skills that will

benefit me extensively for the future of my ISM career. Even though I found the overall
experience for the Business Symposium beneficial, some parts were inconvenient. I think the

organization of the symposium could have been a little better because I felt that at times the

symposium ran late and students did not know where to go next. Nevertheless, the experience of

the symposium was beneficial to me, my future in this course, and my career in general.