Last month, 23 Higher Achievement scholars from all over the DC area went on a career-focused field trip to the Oliver Wyman business consulting firm and to the Vinson & Elkins law firm. Oliver Wyman staff led an engaging business consulting competition. Scholars learned what Oliver Wyman does and the purpose of business consulting. Then they were broken up into consulting groups to save a mock fast food chain, McDivots, which suffered from dropping sales. The groups were asked to identify the problem, come up with a solution, and present their ideas to the heads of McDivots, all with the help of Oliver Wyman volunteers. Scholars had a blast using their creativity and business savvy to develop thoughtful solutions.
The Vinson & Elkins trip was jam packed with many fun activities, the highlight being the negotiation workshop. Lawyers from multiple fields ranging from cyber security to Pepco, ate lunch with scholars and spoke about their professions. After lunch, they learned about negotiation strategies and then practiced with two different mock scenarios. One being two friends debating the price of a leather jacket, and the other being a basketball coach and player discussing play time for a player. In pairs, scholars took on different roles, and attempted to negotiate the best possible deal. Scholars also took a tour of the Vinson & Elkins building while hearing from employees in each department.
Scholars left both trips feeling excited for the career opportunities they had learned about and proud of what they had accomplished. If you are interested in hosting a field trip for Higher Achievement scholars please reach out to Margaret Service, the Manager of Scholar Programming, at mservice@higherachievement.org.