High School Meeting Reflection

On a gloomy February day in 2013, I was set to meet my high school counselor for the first time. My mom and I arrived at Niles West and found ourselves waiting in the guidance counselor’s office to decide my classes for freshman year. “Jason?” My head tilted up. “I can meet with you now” my counselor said with an inviting smile. Going into the meeting, I was dead set on taking a debate class in order to be on the debate team. My dream in eighth grade was to be a lawyer, and I thought being in debate was the solution. As I left the meeting, my debate dreams folded as I was not signed up for any debate classes. However, in its place was another educational field: business. Coincidentally, I was so fickle in the meeting that I signed myself up for Business and Technology. I was off my original road map, but I thought I’d make the best out of
Niles West’s stellar business program, DECA chapter, and inspirational business teachers have prepared me for this moment. The funny thing is, I never intended on majoring in business. The debate classes my eighth grade self planned on taking led me to believe that I wanted to become a lawyer. I even crafted an eighth grade career project on becoming a lawyer. However, thanks to my counselor’s guidance and school’s opportunities, I discovered a business major as my true dream and future career path. Essentially, my business passion would not be possible if it was not for Niles West. The school offered DECA and an unmatched business curriculum that extinguished my early apprehensions of business. How exactly did Niles West prepare me for my post-secondary plans? It offered me a treasure chest of opportunities in all facets of education and extracurricular activities that culminated in my pursuit of business at the University of