One of our long term goals of the FATE Alumni Program is to be able to provide our alumni with opportunities to expand their professional network and build transferable skills to support their career growth. Our Alumni Summit is a day of programming dedicated to creating an experience to focus explicitly on this goal. In our 2nd Annual FATE Alumni Summit, we were intentional about exposing our alumni to even more opportunities from our business partners. We hosted the event at the Pistons Performance Center and would like to thank them for allowing us to use their beautiful facility! The day centered around creating connections, building networking skills, and exploring employment opportunities and career pathways. The day wouldn't have been as meaningful without the combined effort of our business partners, alumni success coaches, 12th grade FATE volunteers, the Give Merit team, and the energetic participation of the alumni.
We spent the morning chatting over breakfast and getting energized for the day ahead. The alumni then dove into a workshop where they reflected on their FATE experiences and their journeys post-high school graduation. Alumni reviewed the FATE Alumni Program mission and vision, and identified the importance of achieving the goals as outlined by the vision statement. They then cultivated ideas for next year’s FATE Alumni Program theme and presented their thoughts to the group.
Our next workshop was led by Target, who prepared the alumni for the afternoon by practicing interview etiquette. Alumni learned how to enter and exit an interview, how to introduce themselves in a marketable manner, and brainstormed questions to ask potential interviewers. This workshop allowed alumni to practice their skills and enter the afternoon portion of the summit with confidence. Thank you so much to Target for partnering with us and sharing their expert knowledge!
With the skills and knowledge alumni learned during the morning part of the day, we transitioned into an afternoon designed to offer several opportunities for our alumni to connect with the business partners. We enjoyed a networking lunch and then moved into scheduled interviews and open networking time. Our business partners this year included: Meijer, Target, the Crysler Club, Detroit Lions, Wayne State University, Chase Bank, Heal.Be.Live., Playworks, The Henry Ford, Degree Forward, Narrow Way, Skinphorea, Hospitality Included, Rocket Companies, Carhartt, and Chick-fil-A. Each partner brought great expertise and amazing opportunities for our alumni to explore. Partners provided our alumni with resume and interview feedback, and advice on how to move forward in their ambitions. These connections don’t just last for the day of the summit, but continue as we explore job and career opportunities with partners who may hire or work with our alumni in the future. We are so grateful for each and every partner for making the day as successful as it was!
We had such a great day with our FATE family and are eagerly awaiting next year's Alumni Summit to continue helping our alumni build their professional skills, knowledge, and networks. If you are interested in partnering with us for next year or other future events, please email Kat Grow - FATE Alumni Program Director - at kgrow@meritgoodness.com.
