The 20th Annual DuSable Conference was this weekend. We were invited to attend and it proved a valuable introduction to AAMBAA. The Career Fair consisted of about 15 sponsor companies set up to talk with students. I stayed with my strategy of talking to each and every company and quickly made it through talking to a lot of people, many of whom I already knew. One company had already picked me out from the resume book as a possibly good match. I cannot stress enough, the importance of a stellar resume. The evening finished with a dinner where Dean Snyder spoke followed by a keynote address by a local business owner and alum.
Saturday we met for workshops. They had something for everyone, covering topics like “Wealth Management” and “Managing a Small Business”. I attended one session that was akin to “Scared Straight” about life after business school. It really hit home for me and has made me very introspective. I’m really thinking about what I want to get out of business school and whether I’m actually pursuing what I say I want. It’s deep…
Anyway, it was encouraging to see so many successful African American business people and alumni. It is amazing to think that I’ve joined this family of extremely accomplished people and that I will someday be in the position to guide someone else. It didn’t hurt that they were able to raise 75 thousand dollars in less than 3 hours, in order to have a room in our new building named for the Black Alumni Network!
Finally there was a party to close out the conference. It is very disconcerting to see a recruiter or alumnus at a party a few hours after you were discussing banking interviews. You don’t necessary want your future recommender or employer to see you in your club wear! But I guess it works both ways… They aren’t quite so intimidating after you see them dance!