Albemarle, NC 鈥� There are many benefits to learning and practicing life skills as a high school student. For example, being able to successfully balance a monthly budget may not seem important when a parent is managing the bills, but financial and other problems can occur when a student does not have the basic understanding of responsible finances prior to living on their own.
Helping students grasp a thorough understanding of life skills for 鈥渞eal life鈥� is one of the benefits of the Bulldogs to Eagles Business program taught by Stanly Community College鈥檚 Lorie Narolewski. Each week, the Business Administration Program Head taught business courses at Albemarle High School (AHS) to juniors and seniors.
鈥淢any of the students who enroll in the program may or may not be going to college,鈥� says Narolewski, 鈥渂ut they want to learn the skills needed to live and work on their own. Despite the career path a student chooses, the program prepares them for a successful start after high school.鈥�
Thanks to the program, ten AHS students completed five courses to earn Business Administration Marketing Certificates from SCC in May 2022.
Some of the subject matter taught in the business administration program included: College Student Success, Introduction to Business, Budgeting, Communication, Critical Thinking, Business Law, Marketing, and Building and Protecting Your Credit Score.
鈥淪tudents feel more confident going into the workforce because of the life skills they obtain in the program,鈥� says Narolewski. 鈥淚 enjoy giving students a glimpse of what college or living on their own can be like,鈥� she added. 鈥淓very young person needs every advantage to start out on a solid footing and the Bulldogs to Eagles program does just that.鈥�
These and other classes taught by SCC on the Albemarle High School campus help students explore what continuing their education past graduation could be like. 鈥淭aking these classes in high school can show students they have what it takes to continue on their educational journey,鈥� says Jeff Parsons, SCC Chief Academic Officer and Vice President of Academic Affairs. 鈥淭hese students proved to themselves they could do it and now have the confidence to attend SCC and even four-year colleges and universities.鈥�