My First NHBC Experience

Hi everyone! My name is Sadiyah Khan and I am a grade 10 student at Albert Campbell CI. Today I had the pleasure of attending the National High School Business Conference. Here are my thoughts highlighting what I learned about from the workshops and CPA challenges.

The opening CPA keynote speaker Mark Grenon, a forensics accountant, shared a speech to us about his job. He talked about what he does and how solves crimes. Listening to him speak about his cases intrigued me. I would not have thought that a stream of accounting would utilize many skills like auditing and investigative skills. The speech taught us that different types of jobs can utilize the same skills. He also told us some of the dangers of having social media. Anyone's information can be used in a negative way. He showed us that each career choice is not singular, instead, different pathways can open up from that choice.

The following two workshops taught me how to become more mentally fit, and I learned more about the CPA. In the first workshop, Mental Fitness, the group learned about the three core muscles: saboteurs, sage, and self-command. We learned how to think more positively and to train our mental health to use our sage muscles. During the lesson, I learned ways to control my mental fitness when surrounded by different people or situations. After the workshop, I learned that I let my saboteur muscles get the best of me on too many occasions. In the second workshop, I learned more about CPAs. The speaker, Jodi, convinced us well that becoming a CPA has many positive advantages. She also explained the importance of our soft skills for resumes and job interviews. Jodi encouraged everyone to fill their resumes with soft skill/extra curricular activity examples.

The post-secondary Q&A panel helped me to gain a bit more confidence in the career choice I want to pursue. As a grade 10 student that does not have an older sibling, I was intrigued when I heard advice and experience coming from a university student. The speakers gave everyone uncommon advice about post-secondary education.

During the 80 minute CPA challenge, “Who Did It?” My group and I worked hard towards trying to find the culprit. The experience helped us to develop our investigative skills. The situation was very stressful because of the time limit. I also felt very intimidated by the amount of information to sort through and present. However, my group took on the task full forced. We split up the tasks into different sections. This was not only fun, but helped all of us to develop our collaboration and communication skills together. I used the opportunity to develop my thinking skills, as well as looking and analyzing examples of receipts and expenses data. a I now understand how accounting and investigating blend into forensics accounting.

My group had chosen the Illuminate x World promotional video challenge. We had worked hard for the past two weeks. We are happy that our hard work paid off because we won second place. The experience and conference were engaging and allowed me to take part in new challenges and workshops. I learned a lot more about myself and my career choice today. I will take my teachings from today and apply them towards success.