Mentors taught Binghamton student how to succeed. Now, she’s taking it back to high school

If the writing hadn't already been on the proverbial wall that Michelle Baginski would pursue accounting at Binghamton University's School of Management, her high school surroundings certainly painted the picture.

In her classroom at New York City's High School of Economics and Finance, not far from Wall Street and the Freedom Tower, the first-generation student whose parents came from Poland in their early 20s always viewed the science behind math and numbers as "my connector."

"Polish was my first language, so math kept me grounded and made me a little bit more confident in my abilities," Baginski said. "Even though I knew it was in my future, I didn't always know which direction to take with it. Business ultimately fascinated me, simply because we all deal with business in our everyday lives."

But her passion for accounting didn't spring from a textbook. It came from hands-on experiences like the virtual enterprise program during Baginski's high school senior year, which put her and her classmates into business roles they had to interview for (she became the chief financial officer). To learn how those classroom lessons translated into the working world, she had to look no further than mentoring opportunities from business professionals who visited her school.

That's why, when Baginski came to Binghamton, she was driven to replicate the learning style that had helped her fall in love with her chosen business field. After becoming president of the Binghamton Accounting Association student organization, Baginski led the launch of the Mentoring Future Leaders program.

Recognizing all these opportunities offered at Binghamton, as well as how driven to succeed and community-involved SOM students are, made me realize that this was where I wanted to be. Not only would I grow my knowledge in accounting through the SOM curriculum, but also through involvement in SOM organizations, which has helped me accomplish my various goals.

Michelle Baginski

The program connects 21 SOM students with a student mentee at Binghamton High School. During their monthly meetings, the high school students gain valuable professional development, career readiness guidance and opportunities to explore various business fields.

"We've made it very relatable, so instead of the students meeting with someone who was in school 20 or so years ago, they see someone closer to their own ages sharing their experiences and, hopefully, getting them to think about how this is something they could see themselves doing in the future," Baginski said. "It's easy in high school to only see a straight line about where to go next. We want to show how everything connects together and how there are more options out there than you think once you gain that foundational knowledge."

Baginski said Binghamton High School was chosen to launch the program due to its proximity to the University, and if its success continues, the program could branch out to other local school districts.

"I hope we can pass along that it's not just about knowing the content," she said. "It's about finding a way of relating yourself to that content to better understand what it means."

Binghamton University School of Management accounting student Michelle Baginski says, "Business ultimately fascinated me, simply because we all deal with business in our everyday lives." Image Credit: Jonathan Cohen.

Baginski sees mentorship as essential because, it's why she ended up at SOM in the first place. One of her high school mentors, Binghamton accounting graduate Nicole Cunningham '92, shared how beneficial her college experience had been.

Eager for a chance to major in accounting, Baginski toured Binghamton's campus in fall 2019, and was intrigued to see how closely involved students were with academic advisors and SOM Career Services from Day One - not to mention the opportunities to engage with recruiters and professionals from the Big Four accounting firms and the tight-knit community.

"Recognizing all these opportunities offered at Binghamton, as well as how driven to succeed and community-involved SOM students are, made me realize that this was where I wanted to be," Baginski said. "Not only would I grow my knowledge in accounting through the SOM curriculum, but also through involvement in SOM organizations, which has helped me accomplish my various goals."

Starting a program like Mentoring Future Leaders from scratch can feel daunting, especially while you're still a student. But Baginski realized she and fellow Accounting Association members were on the right track during their first visit to the high school, where one of the 17-year-old students explained he was already developing a landscaping business.

"I got to see a bit of myself in that student," Baginski said, "and that helped me take a step back to realize how we tend to become so focused on getting ahead and being in a fast-paced mode, so it's easy to forget the little ways in which we can inspire each other."

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