Sample from:
Tech Prep Spotlight on the Voices of Florida Tech Prep
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It is a great honor to write on behalf of TECH PREP. When I was in my freshman and sophomore years of high school, getting an education was not my number one priority. I was an average student making average grades, but I did not have a true purpose for waking up every morning and going to school. School was a means of socialization. It was where I saw my friends and played sports, a place to hang out until it was time for me to graduate.
I did not unlock or tap into my true potential until my junior year. I was looking for something that I could get into that would help me towards my career. The TECH PREP program, which offers hands-on training, was the answer I was looking for. The program was just getting started and was being aggressively marketed by the business department. I assumed it was just a ploy to get me to do extra work, but my business instructor, Diane Lauramoore, was very persistent and convinced me that this program could help me towards my goal of be-coming a high-level insurance claims executive. I really liked the insurance industry, but I did not know how to position myself to get into the industry. This is when she explained that the TECH PREP program could help me get some exposure in the insurance industry while still in high school.
Well, as anyone could imagine, I jumped at the opportunity . . . and the rest is history. The program gave me the initiative to become Senior Class President, District President of Future Business Leaders of America, President of Junior Achievement, and many other honors before I left high school.
Through the TECH PREP program, I was able to intern my senior year with one of the top five insurance companies in the industry, Nationwide Insurance. My progress was monitored through a weekly report that the company produced to show how I was doing and what I was learning. I was still responsible for my core classes (English, science, history, etc.), but instead of taking needless and uninteresting electives, I was given the opportunity to go to work at Nationwide. I received all necessary high school credits through the TECH PREP program, and I did well on the job.
Nationwide took an interest in me and dedicated time and resources to train me in company policies. After several months of hard work on my part, the company hired me as a perma-nent employee in the regional claims office. The position started at $9.00 an hour, included company benefits and employee scholarships, and gave me a secure job so that I could get claims exposure while still in college. Nationwide Insurance is truly dedicated to helping me reach my dreams as a claims executive. I must now do my part, which is to obtain my col-lege degree, continue to work hard, and remember that the company’s customers always come first.
In conclusion, TECH PREP has been invaluable to me in my quest for success. Without the program, I probably would not be where I am today. I have been elected President of Phi Beta Lambda at Santa Fe Community College and will attend the University of Florida in the Fall of 1996. TECH PREP helped me to realize my potential and taught me that the way to achieve success is through hard work, perseverance, and possessing a positive attitude in everything that I do. I would recommend this program to any student who is serious about the future. TECH PREP can be an invaluable tool to any student that wants to get ahead in today’s business world.
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Copyright © 1998 by Institute for Workforce Competitiveness.
Revised: August
03, 1998.