Pictured left to right: Darriell Smith, Anthony Bell, Timothy McCall, Andrew Grant, Shareek Branch, Marvin Levelle, Jordan Sealey, Stanley Smith, Marquis Bent, Jalin Harrington, Dock Luckie lll, Chris Collins, and Xavier McClinton.
Photo submitted by Catisha Joseph
As the semester draws to a close, the men of the Beta Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity hosted their first ever “signing day” event Thursday to showcase acceptance-like contracts for their recent internship or job offers.
Now the men of Alpha Phi Alpha are no strangers to a day of celebrating their accomplishments. However, what makes this event a little different was the open invitation for the campus to get an idea of what their chapter is up to — while providing tips to students seeking internships or jobs, and insight to their journey.
The event was set up just as a signing day press conference, with rows of seats facing a rectangular table with the organization banner behind it.
“We brought this event to the campus because we know a lot of students struggle with finding an internship, so we thought to bring the same access and knowledge we have to the campus,” said Shamari Pittman, a third-year health science major and member of Alpha Phi Alpha.
Approximately half of the 49 active members secured an internship for summer 2019, with six members receiving job offers upon graduation. A few of those members are:
Marquis Bent- Hensel Phelps (job offer)
Dock Luckie III- Hensel Phelps (internship)
Timothy McCall- Goldman Sachs, New York (job offer)
Xavier McClinton- 5/3 Bank, Cincinnati (job offer)
Andrew Grant- Eli Lilly, Indianapolis (internship)
Emmanuel Dawson- Deloitte (Internship)
Myles Millsap- Eli Lilly (Internship)
Shareek Branch- St. Louis Cardinals, (internship)
Anthony Bell- Ford, Detroit (internship)
Jordan Sealy- Chemical Biological Radioactive Nuclear Officer (US Army, job offer)
Stanley Smith- Air Defense Artillery Officer, El Paso, TX (US Army, job offer)
Darriell Smith- FAU College of Medicine Geriatric Research (internship)
Marvin Levelle- Wells Fargo, Charlotte, NC (internship)
Jalin Harrington- McHarry Associates, Miami (internship)
Chris Collins – Harris Corporation/ L3 Harris Technologies (job offer)
Each member received the opportunity to come up, sign their contract and reveal who they’ll be working for by selecting a hat, showing their company shirt or merely writing the company’s name on a dry erase board.
“I think the event was a great way for fellow students of Florida A&M University to get additional insight on what it takes to market yourself as well as establish connections now for future endeavors,” said Jalin Harrington, a senior architecture major and member of Alpha Phi Alpha.
Many spoke on ways to sell yourself in interviews and encouraged students to talk about their highlighted skills, qualities and what they can bring to the job. They also advised students to take a chance on the many opportunities the FAMU Career Center has to offer for all majors as well as what other universities’ career fairs may have outside of Tallahassee.
A representation from the FAMU Career Center provided students with information regarding scholarships, internships, conferences, and more for the upcoming semester.
When asked about her thoughts about the signing day event, Kiera Mitchell, a second-year accounting major, had nothing but positive things to say.
“I really enjoyed the event, it was very informative on new ways to get internships, and it was nice to see black men succeeding,” said Mitchell.