Too often, school can feel like something students HAVE to do rather than something they WANT to do. As educators, we hope that we are able to build on students’ interests and help them see a purpose behind the classes they take. Today’s post is a great story of how Alpha Achievers Vice President Daniel Adegbesan found his passion through his education. Check it out and hopefully you’ll be inspired to find your passion too!

Developing My Passion

I am Daniel Adegbesan, a current senior at Howard High. As a student in the Howard County School System, I recognize that I’m tremendously blessed to receive incredible opportunities unavailable to students outside of such an accredited district. Through my educational career so far, one of the biggest investments in my future that I’ve made has been through the Applications and Research Laboratory (ARL) program, specifically through the Academy of Finance. The ARL is a Howard County School System facility with the goal of preparing students for centralized career fields; the program I’ve been enrolled in since my junior year of high school is the Academy of Finance taught by Dr. Maddy Halbach. The merits of the ARL are boundless and I recommend the program to any student aware of their interests and seeking to develop a much more comprehensive skill set than what would be taught in a traditional classroom setting. As part of the Academy of Finance, I’ve learned the basics of  accounting in a Howard Community College course paid for by the Academy of Finance, studied the banking industry, traveled to the Federal Reserve in Baltimore, studied the stock market, learned about personal finance and budgeting through the H&R Budget challenge, met with leaders in the corporate industry, and am currently in the process of developing a business plan as part of a project in collaboration with Patterson High School in Baltimore City to redevelop the Baltimore area in response to the riots of 2015. All in all, the Academy of Finance has been an incredible incubator to grow my passion for business and solidify my intent to major in Finance following my high school career.

In addition to my interests in the business world, I also have a passion for civil and social activism and community organizing. The Academy of Finance provides internships for students in the program and in connection with my interests I was offered a position as an Intern in the office of Howard County Council Chairperson Dr. Calvin Ball. As a current part of the office, I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to file away constituent complaints, draft resolutions, and assist in organizing events. Being inside the legislative process and having the opportunity to truly witness the way constituent input translates to government action has been an enlightening experience and my interest in government has grown.

In the future I plan to double major in Finance and Computer Science, but in addition to my professional career I hope to also develop community programs to further today’s civil rights movement and also partner with local government to eliminate structures of systemic oppression in lower income areas.