This winter, we hosted the first annual in-person Alumni Summit! Looking back on the day, it was just what the FATE family needed. We are so grateful for the support we had in bringing this day together. It would not have been possible without the Give Merit team, our alumni success coaches, our business partners, and of course all our incredible alumni who were able to attend. We also want to give a special thank you to the Pistons for hosting us in their incredible space at the Piston’s Practice Facility! It was a perfect backdrop to our day.
Our vision behind our Alumni Summit is to provide a professional opportunity for our alumni - one that encompasses career preparedness, skills identification and development, and a range of networking experiences with business leaders and potential employers. Our first Summit delivered just that. We kicked off the morning with a talk from Marcus Collins about spheres of influence. Our alumni then dove into a few workshops exercising design thinking skills as they provided recommendations on how to improve communication within the Alumni Program. Alumni then participated in some final preparation before transitioning into the next phase of the day - networking!
The afternoon was all about connections! We had several business partners who were there to participate in a networking lunch with our alumni, led tables in the networking room, and hosted several one-on-one individual interviews with our alumni: The Crysler Club, Meijer, Narrow Way Cafe, Level One Bank, Chase Bank, the Henry Ford Museum, Degree Forward, and the Warren Fire Department.
There were even some additional partners we weren’t able to make the day, but are continuing to work with us to ensure our alumni get opportunities and preparation: Target, Rock Family of Companies, Detroit Lions, Meijer, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, Playworks, Washpointe, and XHIBITION.
We are eagerly awaiting next years’ Alumni Summit where we can create even more meaningful pathways for our alumni to thrive in their prospective careers! If you are interested in partnering with us for next year’s summit, reach out to our Resource Director - Kat Grow - at kgrow@meritgoodness.com
Here are a few reflections from the day:
“Those students you have are brilliant and destined for greatness. They each have so much to offer I could have talked with them all day. That was a rewarding experience and a great way to kick off 2022 and I thank you for allowing Meijer to be partnered with FATE.”- Gabrielle Page, Meijer
“Today was great for learning and networking. I loved that I got the opportunity to be interviewed by great individuals who are good at what they do. That being said, I enjoyed the opportunities!”- D’Mauri Rich, FATE Alumni Class of 2021
Check out a full recap of the day below!