Nearly 100 high school students gained hands-on experience and insight into college life and future careers this summer through three free summer camps at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business. The Discover Accounting, Discover Actuarial Science and Discover Business: DREAMBIG Academy camps provided participants with the chance to live in residence halls, connect with industry professionals, faculty, staff and student mentors, and build their leadership, communication and networking skills.
"The College of Business camps help you get a feel for college life and explore what you might want to pursue both as a student and for a career. The best part is making friends and building connections with people who share your interests, and I loved the topics covered in camp," said Cooper Hill, a rising senior from Seward, Nebraska, who attends Seward High School. "I met tons of new people from different parts of Nebraska and the United States, as well as college student mentors, business professionals and recruiters. These wonderful connections will be very important as I decide what I want to do after high school and help guide me throughout college."
Discover Accounting: Exploring the Language of Business
Discover Accounting helps rising high school seniors and college freshmen explore the foundations of business through interactive learning. During this year’s camp, participants learned about the many career paths in accounting and visited firms including FORVIS and Lutz while participating in activities with professionals from Deloitte, Labenz & Associates and KPMG.
"This experience positively impacted my perception of what it would be like to pursue an education at Nebraska," said Kendall Bohling of Elk Creek, Nebraska, who graduated from Johnson-Brock High School in May. "The Discover Accounting camp showed me how much the faculty and staff care about each student and take the extra steps to help. It also showed me how important connections are for your future."
Led by Jill Trucke, associate professor of practice in accountancy, the camp included a campus scavenger hunt and the chance for students to select professional attire from the college’s Career Closet, operated by the Alpha Delta Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity.
“I made a lot of connections with peers interested in business or accounting,” Bohling said. “Getting the chance to know and converse with Jill Trucke, other faculty and current students provided me with so much information and the ability to ask questions before attending UNL as a student.”
Discover Actuarial Science: Building Real-World Connections
Discover Actuarial Science introduces rising high school juniors and seniors to risk analysis and mathematical modeling through simulations, group activities and sessions with current students, faculty and professionals. Led by Sue Vagts, director of the actuarial science program, and Heather Clemens, assistant director and associate professor of actuarial science, the camp included a visit to Assurity and presentations from professionals at Ameritas and Farmers Mutual.
“The summer camp helped solidify my decision to pursue an actuarial science degree at the university this fall,” said Creighton Gish of Lincoln, who graduated from Southwest High School in May and attended camp last summer. “I met students from across the nation who were interested in stats and finance, professionals working in the field who shared about their careers and faculty who want us to be successful in college and will guide us along the way.”
Students also participated in team-building activities, bowled on the Husker Bowling team's lanes, enjoyed ice cream at the UNL Dairy Store and explored campus through a scavenger hunt.
“The activities helped me strengthen my leadership and communication skills as we worked together to solve problems as a team,” Gish said. “I also appreciated receiving a scholarship after attending the camp and am thankful to the generous donors who made that possible.”
Discover Actuarial Science participants become eligible for scholarships upon completing the summer programs and meeting additional university admission requirements.
Discover Business: DREAMBIG Academy – Building Career Awareness
Designed for high school students from across the country, the Discover Business: DREAMBIG Academy helps participants explore business majors and career paths. This year’s students also practiced networking skills at a mixer with business professionals and developed clearer visions for their futures.
“The most impactful thing I learned at DREAMBIG Academy was the power of networking and how knowing people can go a long way, especially in the business world,” Hill said. “This made me want to start my own LinkedIn profile in high school to start connecting while learning more about different businesses and people.”
Students also competed in a Quick Pitch competition, presenting short pitches for business ideas to a panel of judges. The winning team proposed a dessert menu expansion for Runza, including a sweet version of its signature sandwich. Each student on the winning team received a $1,000 scholarship.
“They pitched a creative idea for Runza to offer a dessert Runza, and they worked collaboratively to build marketing slogans around the product for their presentation that set them apart,” said Mallory Krenk, student engagement and recruitment coordinator for the Center for Entrepreneurship and a competition judge. “We look forward to seeing what they do as future Huskers.”
The $1,000 prize is in addition to the $2,000 scholarship all DREAMBIG participants are eligible for upon completing the program and meeting university admission requirements.
