THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARS
The Emerging Workforce: Insights from Pan-Asian Millennials
On Sunday, November 9, five scholars of the National Society of High School Scholars shared their educational and professional experiences and expectations at the 5th annual NAAMBA (National Association of Asian MBAs) Leadership Conference & Career Exposition in Boston, Massachusetts. NSHSS Vice President Beth Pann provided the welcome in which she presented the results of the seventh annual NSHSS Millennial Career Survey, which reflects the opinions of 12,000 diverse scholars, ages 15-28, 13% of whom are Pan-Asian.
Fabian De Rozario, Talent Consultant and National President of NAAP (National Association of Asian American Professionals), served as the moderator leading the Q&A styled discussion. The NSHSS student panel included: Pananya Kamkourkong of William Paterson University; William Long, NSHSS National Scholar Award recipient, of Harvard College; Bettina Lu, NSHSS National Scholar Award and CCP College Prep Programme Award recipient, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business; Juliane Marie B. Veloso of George Mason University; and Resham Dhaduk of Lebanon Valley College.
Currently enrolled in an accelerated program to attain a doctorate in Physical Therapy, Resham credits her confidence and decisiveness in her career aspirations to her exposure to conferences and study abroad experiences early in her high school career through her membership with NSHSS. Fabian inquired about Resham’s access to these opportunities and experiences at such a young age. Resham responded by pointing to the panelists’ table banner and explaining, “the letters you see on this table cloth ‘NSHSS,’ afforded me opportunities I had never dreamed of prior to being inducted into the Society.”
Resham’s NSHSS peers echoed her sentiments, and added that the opportunity to attend the NAAMBA conference as college students is an experience that is giving them a competitive edge over their peers. All of the NSHSS college scholars in attendance demonstrate optimism in their career expectations as they believe that ambition coupled with integrity and fortitude will ensure success in their future professional endeavors.
At the awards dinner on the last evening of the conference, NSHSS and AscendNAAMBA awarded the 2014 Employer of Choice Award for High-Achieving, Pan-Asian Millennials to corporations and organizations who were ranked highly as employers of choice by NSHSS students of Asian descent.
The awards recognize NAAMBA partners specifically identified by NSHSS Pan-Asian members as their top employer of choice in the 2014 NSHSS Millennial Career Survey, which is in its 7th year of charting the preferences and attitudes of high-achieving millennials in the areas of career choice, employers, workplace environment, technology, communications, and educational goals. NSHSS and NAAMBA presented the 2014 Employer of Choice Award for High-Achieving Pan-Asian Millennials to Allstate, Amazon, Bank of America, Booz Allen Hamilton, the Central Intelligence Agency, Deloitte, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Major League Baseball, Northrop Grumman, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Target, and Home Depot.
NSHSS has more than 2 million lifetime members between the ages of 15 and 28, with membership increasing by more than 100,000 high-achieving high school students annually. NSHSS membership is ethnically diverse with 13% of all NSHSS students being of Asian descent. Another key attribute of NSHSS scholars is diversity of culture, religion, and thought.
NSHSS is proud of its strategic partnership with AscendNAAMBA. Together, the two organizations bring resources to high-achieving students who are striving to develop professionally, pursue an MBA degree, and attain internship and employment opportunities.