PHOENIX — If you can see it, you can be it. That’s the message for young girls across Arizona from a Valley-based organization advocating for better representation for women across the business world.
And as ABC15 recently found out, it’s never too early to start!
It may look like a normal classroom – but we’re not inside a school, the lessons aren’t coming from a boring old textbook, and it’s not for your typical students.
“Honestly, it’s been amazing!” describes Danielle Gonzales, a sophomore at Franklin Police and Fire High School in Phoenix.
She’s trading in the hallways of her school for Corporate America at Charles Schwab.
“It’s been really, really fun. You get to learn about people’s jobs.”
And that’s exactly the goal of a program from the Arizona Council on Economic Education called “Invest in Girls.”
“We just took a leap of faith and the community just embraced it,” explains ACEE President and CEO Elena Zee.
Zee remembers what it was like trying to navigate Corporate America on her own as a young woman.
"How beneficial would something like this have been for you at the time?" ABC15's Nick Ciletti asked.
"Oh, tremendously! I wish I had this," Zee responded. "Absolutely."
During the program, students learn about a variety of topics like portfolio management, investment banking, corporate finance, and even cyber security.
“They have been hungry for it and they are still hungry for it,” said Kris Anest, a former high school teacher who now works at Charles Schwab and helps teach the company’s “Schwab Moneywise” program. It aims to teach financial literacy and is available for free to everyone.
Heidi Bonfante is a teacher at Franklin Police and Fire High School and says she has noticed the life-changing impact the ACEE program and Schwab Moneywise have had on her students.
“To find this program and get them involved in this program, it’s been amazing,” said Bonfante. “I don't believe this is the end, this is the beginning.”
To learn more about ACEE’s Invest in Girls program, click here.
To learn more about Schwab Moneywise, click here.