Pre-Professional Programs in High School: Preparing Students for Success
When I think back on my four years in high school, the most formative experience I had was participating in my school’s pre-professional program. During my junior year, I was selected to be in Highland Park High School’s (HPHS) Moody Advanced Professional Studies (MAPS) Business Design and Leadership class. It was in this class that I came up with the idea for Natural Power, learned how to pitch an idea, and won a business pitch competition and startup capital. I had the privilege of speaking to Dr. Geoffrey Orsak, Executive Director of the Moody Innovation Institute, and Dr. Tom Trigg, Superintendent of Highland Park Independent School District to learn more about these programs.
The Moody Advanced Professional Studies Program
MAPS is an innovative experience for HPHS Juniors and Seniors that focuses on preparing them for the professional world. This program takes a hands-on approach to learning that allows students to gain a competitive advantage for their future pursuits. Students learn a variety of skills that are critical for the professional world, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. MAPS offers several focus areas, such as Business Design and Leadership (BDL), Brain Science and Health, Engineering Design, Environmental Architecture, Modern Media, and Sports Analytics. MAPS also operates its own coffee shop called Scottie Joes where students in HPHS’s 18+ Special Education program can learn real-world skills. Scottie Joes also provides BDL students with a real-world case study to work on. Beyond the skills listed above, Business Design and Leadership taught me marketing, finance, Excel, PowerPoint, and provided me with connections across numerous industries.
An unusual education
A pre-professional education is not what one would traditionally see in a high school. It is far more hands-on and resolves one of students’ largest complaints about school: it teaches you real-world skills. After my senior year, I may not have much use for Calculus, but I most definitely will have to know how to navigate Excel spreadsheets. I may never have to give a book presentation after school, but I will have to know how to present and pitch an idea. This is the true value of a pre-professional education. It teaches the students soft skills that will be useful in their life after high school.
A pre-professional education also helps students figure out what they want to do with their lives and what they would like to major in college. If you enroll in a business pre-professional program and fall in love with it, you are likely going to pursue that in college. It also works the other way around. If you are in an engineering pre-professional program and dislike it, you probably are not going to major in it in college. But you found that out ahead of time, so you can save time and money at university.
When applying to college, every student is trying to find ways to differentiate themselves. Having a background in a pre-professional program not only shows schools that a student is serious about their intended major, it also gives them an interesting story to tell in their application. For BDL, every student was required to pitch a business idea at the end of the year. Even if a student did not find themselves going very far in that contest, they still gained the experience of going through the process of pitching an idea which they can convey in their application.
Building a network
One of my first assignments in my BDL class was to create a LinkedIn profile that had to meet certain criteria. It had to have a descriptive about me section, list my education, volunteerism, skills, honors, and organizations, obtain 3 recommendations from my classmates, and provide 3 recommendations to other classmates. Many of my classmates thought this was a tedious exercise and that they would never use LinkedIn much. As we progressed through the class, we all realized the importance of LinkedIn and networking. Most of our initial networking was through parents with a background in business who had graciously given their time to speak to high school students. But as we became more comfortable, we were encouraged to branch out and form connections of our own. Myself and many of my peers were able to connect with some remarkable and incredibly helpful professionals who were willing to help us improve our business idea as we approached our pitch competition.
If you are a Sophomore or Junior at Highland Park High School, there is still time to apply to MAPS. Go here for the application and due date.
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