CareerWise DC Alum Leah Sloan's Testimony to the DC School Board of Education

CareerWise DC Alum Leah Sloan Testifying to the DC State Board of Education

Good evening Chair and members of the Board, 

My name is Leah Sloan, and I am a proud graduate of KIPP DC and a CareerWise DC alum. 

Back in 2021, I was a junior who knew I liked business and finance, but I didn’t know exactly  what I wanted to do after high school. My school made the connection that changed  everything—they introduced me to the NAF Academy of Business, which led me to CareerWise  DC, and ultimately to my apprenticeship at Freddie Mac in their Enterprise Supply Chain  department. 

My apprenticeship through CareerWise DC at Freddie Mac was the turning point in my  education. It prepared me for life after high school in ways my classes alone could not. I  graduated with both a diploma and over 2,700 hours of real work experience, more than  $48,000 in earnings, and a professional network that still supports me today. 

My high school coursework gave me a strong academic foundation, but my apprenticeship gave  me something different: the ability to apply what I was learning in real time and launch my  career. For example, I learned how to manage data, navigate supply chain processes, and  communicate in a professional environment. How to send a clear follow-up email. How to ask  good questions. How to present ideas with confidence. Those skills weren’t just “talked about”  in class—I had to practice them every day. 

When I rotated into HR Communications, I discovered a love for connecting people and sharing  information, which led me to my current career path. That’s something I never would have  discovered without the space to try different roles in a real workplace.

Academically, I felt well-prepared for college courses. But without my apprenticeship, I would  have been underprepared for the professional world. I wouldn’t have had the same confidence,  career clarity, or resume that made me competitive for future roles. 

However, my CareerWise DC apprenticeship was only possible because my school and I were  able to commit the necessary hours in my schedule to this opportunity. During my senior year  of high school, I worked with my counselor to ensure I could graduate on time with a class  schedule that ended at 2:00pm each day. Four days a week, I left school and commuted to  Freddie Mac, where I worked from 2:00pm-6:00pm.  

These opportunities should be more available to more young people. Right now, access  depends on whether a student has enough space in their schedule to meet graduation  requirements and the apprenticeship hours — for many students it’s impossible to do both  things because apprenticeship doesn’t earn credits. It also depends on having a school  counselor who can navigate graduation requirements and school scheduling options. At Freddie  Mac, it was essential that I could work 16 hours a week to make the work meaningful. If  schools and employers could work together to create predictable, concentrated schedules,  more students could participate. 

In my experience, employers want apprentices who can adapt quickly, communicate clearly,  work as part of a team, and solve problems independently. Those are things that are very hard  to learn in a classroom alone. 

And while financial literacy and career prep in the classroom are important, these skills are best  learned when students like me have a real-world application in the workplace. My  apprenticeship taught me how to budget my paychecks, how to negotiate work and life  responsibilities, and how to make informed career decisions. That learning deserves to be  recognized and prioritized by the DC’s graduation requirements.  

Today, I’m finishing my Bachelor’s in Marketing and Business Management at the University of  Maryland and working at CollegeTrack, where I support students in the community as they  begin their professional journeys. I get to be for them what my mentors and supervisors were  for me in the workplace. 

I’m here today because I believe every DC student should have access to the kind of work-based  learning that shaped my life. When students are trusted to do real work, they not only learn  skills, but also discover who they are and what they want for their futures. I hope you will consider ensuring there is support for work-based learning as you shape the experience of  future high school graduates in D.C. like me.  

Thank you.