Florida A&M University’s Career and Professional Development Center has launched a new program called the Black Business Excellence Initiative. This program is designed to expose students to opportunities for growth and development and a chance to get experience in their field of study.
There are five companies participating in this initiative; the majority of the companies are businesses that specialize in consulting. One deals with consulting in corporate America, another specializes in consulting in music and entertainment, and one of the companies specializes in photography. All five have direct ties to FAMU with alumni who either own the company or are CEOs.
Christopher Anderson, an internship coordinator and FAMU-FSU College of Engineering consultant, said, “We set up the program for students, business and non-business majors who wanted to get experience in corporate America but more specifically entrepreneurship. We believed it would be a great idea to partner with some alums who already have businesses.”
The program had 20 students apply for positions at these companies and seven of them were selected for an internship position.
Kanesha Phillip senior business major said, “I saw the internship postings on FAMU's handshake job portal and I was really impressed with the hourly wage and happy to find something in my field.”
The students who’ve been selected have said they are enjoying their experience. They are grateful for the opportunities and the networking skills they are learning.
“I was pleased to find out during my interview a few weeks later that there would be room for me to grow in this position and transition and become full time. I now work with Mynd Matters Publishing in Atlanta, Georgia as an editing analyst. The experience has been great,” said Deja Allen senior public relations major.
“To partner with some alumni who already have businesses was a win-win situation. It allowed us away to help the students and give the alumni a way to give back to the school,” said Anderson.
The companies participating in this initiative are all located in Atlanta. This is significant because most students enrolled at the university are Florida residents so the opportunities are in a region that is popular, close to home and possibly somewhere the student will want to move to.
If you have any questions or want to get involved in this program, you can visit the career center located in room 104 in the University Commons. Call 850- 599-3700 to speak with the staff or visit their website at www.famu.edu/careercenter.