Stepping Outside the Box in Building Business Relationships and Internships Think Globally, Act Locally

Introductions Academy of Finance Lead Teacher Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Sharon Cutler Academy of Finance Lead Teacher JP Taravella High School Laurie Acosta Director, AXA-Advisors, LLC Member, Tri-County NAF Advisory Board Ryan McLain AOF Alumnus, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Freshman, University of Florida Ben Gajus

What keeps us awake at night?

Creativity: Using the box

WWW….

Out of the Box - Activity

What makes a “good” business partnership?

What about from our partners’ perspective? What makes it a

 Relationship building – Faculty & Students  Access – Welcomed by Administrators  Trusted partner  Part of the school environment

Building support in your community

Think/Pair/Share  What can you do at your school to make your partners feel like part of the fabric of your school and your program?

What makes a “good” internship?

 What constitutes a NAF internship?  How do teachers help place students in internships?  Who’s responsibility is it to find internships?  AXA story

 Inside the box… OBSTACLES!  Outside the box… A PAID AOF INTERNSHIP! College Internship Program Licensure Requirements Government/ SEC Regulations Government/ SEC Regulations Payroll Issues Age Restrictions Corporate Downsizing Teens have a Negative Reputation!

 How I made it happen at AXA

 Reliable, enthusiastic employees willing to learn  Opportunity to contribute as a mentor  Strengthened my relationship with school, community and students  The work product itself  A roadmap to help me manage future interns

“Ben had the luxury of learning the tools without paying the bills or finding new clients. He got the training and product knowledge of an agent of the company without having to worry about the demands of being an agent.”

 What’s inside the box from the student’s point of view?

What is AOF and Why Should I Care? Internship? I want one of those! Internship? I want one of those! Internship! Best experience of my life! Internship! Best experience of my life! My Internship Experience

Expected Benefits…  Luxury of learning without financial responsibilities  Honors credit  A sense of what it means to work in an office  Crossed “First Job” hurdle  A paycheck

Unanticipated…  A story to tell on my scholarship applications and interviews

Unanticipated…  Relationships  Communication Skills ”I have to say I quite enjoy my coworkers. Most of them are relatively young (Young thirties to mid twenties). They all have a great sense of humor and we all have many things in common.”

Unanticipated…  Vision and clarity about my future career choices …most important things I learned are what a 401K is, what it means and entails to be a financial planner, and how to manage clients and be customer friendly as well as helpful. This internship has really given me insight on what it is like to be a financial planner and I may consider a career in financial planning in the future.

Unanticipated…  I learned how to blog!  Reflect on what I experienced  Realize how much I was learning  Easy to share

Getting students to share and reflect about their internship  The Way We Were  Visit students once at the beginning and once at the end of the internship period  Read portfolio after internship completed

“…pretty much the same stuff as yesterday…

Getting students to share and reflect about their internship

“When I asked him why it is so hard to sell the insurance he told me that many people aren’t even willing to listen to what he has to say….This is very sad.“ “Why do you think so many people resist listening to financial advisors like Ryan?” “According to the meeting I went to today, Americans spend more time watching TV in one day than spending time on their (financial) future….This is pretty sad and I think if Ryan can get someone’s attention for even a short amount of time he many help someone very much.”

Reflection vs. reporting

Creative writing opportunity

On-the-fly Assignments

1.What were the most memorable moments of the internship? 2.What were the most important things you learned? 3.How has your internship affected your idea of your future plans? 1.What were the most memorable moments of the internship? 2.What were the most important things you learned? 3.How has your internship affected your idea of your future plans?

Interview your supervisor: 1.What are the most important skills you look for in an employee? 2.What made you decide to hire an intern? 3.From your perspective, what are the benefits of having an AOF intern? 4.Would you be interested, if you’re able, to hire another intern next year?

 Now students can create their own blogs…

 So can I!

 So can YOU!