It’s fitting that students from the top-ranked public HBCU made their presence felt in the Black Mecca of the South. Earlier this month, a significant number of rattlers participated in a large-scale professional development event in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) hosted DevCon 2024, welcoming 400 students from various HBCUs. Remarkably, 100 of these participants hailed from Florida A&M University (FAMU), outnumbering any other school.
TMCF covered all the expenses for the attendees, offering them a one-of-a-kind experience. The conference masterfully blended the rich culture of HBCUs with corporate readiness, creating a unique platform for student growth and networking.
On arrival day, students showed their school spirit, repping their HBCU’s while attending welcome sessions. TMCF partnered with several companies bringing knowledge and light to students. Global fashion retailer, Coach gave students the opportunity to select free pieces from their collection. The college fund gave multiple scholarship and free giveaways to students as well.
Victor Culpepper, Jr. a industrial engineering student loved the embracement he received at the conference.
“As a young Black man I felt seen during the conference,” Culpepper said. “During the last day of the conference, we had a career fair. During this time, I was able to meet with companies such as PWC and CIA, and they showed me what life after college could be.”
Thursday was the official first day of the conference. Students had access to numerous resources such as headshots along with several workshops covering financial literacy, resume building, and mental health advocacy.
Each day small group activities were included focusing on developing the essential skills needed to thrive in corporate America.
Zacc Brown, a third year cybersecurity student from Singapore served as a student speaker during the conference.
“As student speakers, we worked hard to ensure we captured the audience’s attention and got the crowd hyped,” Brown said. “As someone who struggles with anxiety, this opportunity granted me the ability to get out of my shell and overcome my fear of public speaking.
Brown shared his favorite part of the conference.
“As a rising third year, the conference granted me a lot of new experiences. Although I am grateful for all, I am most grateful for the networking and food etiquette workshops. Yes, food etiquette may be widely known to some, but this was my first experience simply learning my way around the plate. I am forever thankful for TMCF for selecting me for the conference.”
Not only were students from different HBCU’s selected for this conference, so were students from different majors.
Makiya Heard, a third year political science student, spoke about the lessons she learned at DevCon and how she will use them during the upcoming school year.
“I originally was not good at networking, but this conference forced me to put myself out there,” Heard said. “I now feel more confident to partake in our career fair at school with hopes of landing an internship for next summer.”
DevCon will be back next summer! Location and time will be shared at a later date. To stay up to date with all TMCF opportunities, make sure to follow them on their instagram @tmcf_hbcu