Independent Study and Mentorship students met with professionals of various career fields at the annual ISM business symposium Wednesday at Independence High School. 

“We spent about three and a half hours just going to various stations that Independence high school provided for us,” senior Sam Mills said. “We got the opportunity to meet with ISM students across Frisco which was really interesting and meet with professionals who were so gracious to volunteer a little bit of their time to speak with us and give us feedback on how we presented ourselves.”

The symposium took months to plan and for ISM teacher Karene Goff, the end result is definitely worth it. 

“I want students to walk away from the ISM business symposium with more confidence when interacting with professionals, tips, and helpful advice on their resume,” Goff said via text. “The symposium provides students with an opportunity to network with professionals in the community.” 

Students conducted interviews with professionals in a chosen field of study and listened to lectures from returning ISM students. 

“I was able to get more comfortable speaking with real professionals,” junior Catherine Tong said. “We also had lectures from past ISM students and they talked about their experience, which was really cool.”

For Tong, Wednesday’s symposium was an experience more than two years in the making. 

“So I’ve been wanting to do ISM since middle school,” Tong said. “In eighth grade some of the ISM students came to talk to us about it and ever since I’ve wanted to do it.”

Mills, who plans to study Public Administration and policy making, has already learned a lot from the unique ISM experience.

“It’s showed me a lot more breadth in my planned field of study,” Mills said. “Making cold calls, going to interviews, it really pushes you out of your comfort zone. It’s been a great experience and I’ve learned a lot so far.”