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Research Assessment 4

Name: ​Sanya Maini

Teacher: ​Mr. Walters

Class: ​ISM 2

Date: ​Oct 4, 2019

Business Symposium

My experience at Business Symposium was extremely insightful. Since I knew the

structure of the event, I feel that I was more comfortable and was able to get more knowledge out

of the event. I was also able to meet a lot of the friends that I made at last year’s Business

Symposium, who are also studying various financial fields. After talking to them about their

plans for this year, I was able to get more ideas on what direction I wanted my original work to

go. One of my friends from Liberty High School is comparing the health of the stocks of

different major corporations, such as Netflix and Apple, over time. This gave me the idea of

making a comparison report of the financial market before previous depressions. I plan to flesh

this idea out further through my Original Work Proposal.

Additionally, I was able to take interviews of ISM 1 students, which was a fruitful

experience. Being on the other side, I was able to get an insight into what interviewers look for

and what an interviewee can do to stand out. I realized that when giving an interview, I should

always support my claims with examples. All my interviews emphasized their passion for their

respective fields. However, no one was able to provide examples for why they are so passionate,

so all of them blurred together. Thus, for my future interviews, I will make sure to provide
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concrete evidence of my claims, such as mentioning my experience with ISM and my work with

my mentor to show my passion for finance.

During the networking session with professionals, I talked to a person from the IT

department of a nonprofit in Dallas. I was very curious to know how nonprofits operate from a

business standpoint, since I wish to open one in the future as well. I learned that nonprofits

operate just like a business; the only difference is that nonprofits can not carry all of their profits

into the next year. This is why they need constant donations in order to operate. Also, I have

always been confused on the pay structure of executives and employees in nonprofits. I learned

that the pay structure is exactly the same as other corporations- the salary for employees is

comparable. Researching nonprofits from a business standpoint is something I wish to research

further in the future.

Lastly, the guest speaker was very inspiring and motivational. As an aspiring

entrepreneur, I strongly believe that we should always strive to take control of our careers.

However, I had always simply equated this idea to starting a business. The guest speaker

introduced me to a new perspective that we can take control of our careers even in a traditional

workplace setting. This has inspired me to take action in my life as well, not just in the career

aspect, but overall. I am a firm believer that if you put your mind to something, no obstacle can

stop you from accomplishing it, and the guest speaker simply reinforced these values for me.