Get Career Ready with the Future Success Symposium

Future Success Symposium Equips Alumni and Students with Tools for Professional Success

Our fifth annual Future Success Symposium welcomed alumni and high school seniors to Student Leadership Network to plan for their transitions from college to career. Hosted by the Alumni Engagement team, this year’s event focused on identifying a significant persistence barrier impacting our students: the employment skills gap. The symposium aimed to provide students with the tools to succeed through skills development including resume writing best practices, career readiness support, and professional storytelling.

We are grateful to Nicole Meyer, Pamela Jones, and Gabrielle Lloyd from the Alumni Engagement team for coordinating this meaningful opportunity for alumni, students, and volunteers to connect and build skills to get career ready!

The three members of the Alumni Engagement Team pose for a photo — *The Alumni Engagement Team*

Guest Author: Nicole Meyer, Manager of Alumni Engagement

Alumni Navigating the Workplace

We set the tone for an engaging and thought-provoking night by opening with an interactive panel discussion featuring alumni who have graduated college and now work full time. Pamela Jones, Student Leadership’s Director of Alumni Engagement, moderated an open discussion about authenticity in the workplace with Student Leadership alumni Tyra Crosbie and Phellix Rodriguez. Tyra, a TYWLS graduate and current associate director of admissions at Gettysburg College, shared her experience with showing up authentically: “Learning to read the people in the room is important for me to decide how I want to show up and stop second guessing myself. I might be more friendly with my peers and more formal with the department head, but that doesn’t mean I’m not being authentic to myself. I am choosing how I want to share parts of myself.” A Williamsburg Prep graduate, filmmaker, and founder of Phe Studios, Phellix weighed in on balancing passion and making a living. “Your job will be easier if you’re passionate about it. It’s also okay to separate your passion from what you do to pay the bills. Lean on what you’re naturally good at for the job and stay open to growing and learning.”

Three adults have a panel discussion at front of the room, with students seated facing them — *Alumni panelists share about navigating their workplaces.*

A Williamsburg Prep graduate, filmmaker, and founder of Phe Studios, Phellix weighed in on balancing passion and making a living. “Your job will be easier if you’re passionate about it. It’s also okay to separate your passion from what you do to pay the bills. Lean on what you’re naturally good at for the job and stay open to growing and learning.”

Career Success Workshops

One highlight of the event was the presentation from Braven, one of several longtime program partners. Braven is a career readiness program that empowers underrepresented college students in developing confidence, skills, and success in landing strong first jobs out of college. We highlighted Braven’s Career and Leadership Course because it exemplifies the variety of support that our alumni should seek in college to help make their career goals a reality.

Led by Braven program managers Lauren Rosen and Stephanie Polanco, the presenters captivated our audience with a trivia game to debunk networking myths. Next, they created spaces for the participants to practice developing their personal stories as elevator pitches. The session fostered connections with the attendees and our volunteer facilitators from Apollo Global Management, Bailey Peacock and Allison Tanenbaum, who helped alumni refine their elevator pitches.

Students and alumni seated at small tables raise their hands in response to a prompt by the presenter at the front of the room — *Braven program managers lead a trivia game about networking.*

Alumni in pairs practice their elevator pitches and review resumes — *Alumni and students get feedback on their elevator pitches and resumes.*

Resume Support

Led by Jay Francisco, Associate Director of Career Support Services at Borough of Manhattan Community College, the resume development workshop offered attendees a comprehensive guide to creating stand out resumes. From formatting essentials to showcasing achievements, participants gained practical skills to make their resume a powerful tool in their job search.

Raffles and Giveaways

We were thrilled to see the excitement and joy that filled the room due to our fantastic giveaways. Congratulations to Fatima, Engel, and Kye, winners of a selection of Jordan swag!

Alumni in headscarf and denim jacket picks a raffle prize from the table — *Raffle winners chose prizes including apparel and footwear, courtesy of Jordan Brand.*

Symposium Takeways

The success of any event lies in the participation of its seasoned professionals, attendees, and partners. From our post-event survey, we are delighted to share that 80% of attendees felt satisfied or completely satisfied with the event, and 96% of attendees would recommend this event to their friends and peers! The Alumni Engagement Team is grateful to all those who joined us to make the Future Success Symposium a meaningful experience—thank you! Each person’s active involvement and genuine interest contributed to a vibrant atmosphere that fostered learning, networking, and collaboration. Your enthusiasm and energy made the event memorable, and we look forward to bringing more exciting events to our alumni.

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