{"id":2085,"date":"2017-10-25T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/at-t-day-at-howard-university\/"},"modified":"2023-09-04T22:23:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T04:23:35","slug":"at-t-day-at-howard-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/at-t-day-at-howard-university\/","title":{"rendered":"AT&T Day at Howard University"},"content":{"rendered":"

My parents attended Howard, an HBCU (Historically Black College or University),\u00a0but unlike most Bison, they were coming into school at the age that most people were starting on advanced degrees.<\/strong>\u00a0They didn’t go to homecoming festivities. They didn\u2019t have the youthful Bison spirit that comes with growing up and spending your formative years on the historic campus. My dad had a wedding ring on in photos from his college days.\u00a0 My parents had jobs and full lives, and by the time I came along, there were no college sweatshirts at cookouts, and no old Howard t-shirts for me to sleep in.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0My Father’s Journey to the United States<\/a><\/p>\n

In our\u00a0home there are reminders of our college experience everywhere, but growing up there was just one small memento in\u00a0my house.<\/strong> I remember seeing it each time I would sneak into my mother\u2019s closet to play hide and seek behind the coats, or push aside her winter clothes in the back of the closet to get to her high heels. She had a blue and white bumper sticker that said, \u201cHoward University Bison, We\u2019re on the Move.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mom hated bumper stickers, so I understood why it was buried in the closet, but it was on the wall –\u00a0 a place more sacred than the bumper of her car.<\/p>\n

There is something magical about the HBCU experience \u2013 the Howard experience.<\/strong>\u00a0 While I am an Aggie, like my parents, I am now Howard graduate, a Bison.<\/p>\n

When AT&T asked me to sit in on a session that their top African American executives were having with students from the business school during homecoming week, it was an immediate, \u201cyes.\u201d That\u2019s the thing about being a graduate of an HBCU \u2013 when they call, you answer, and the answer is \u201cyes.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several of the students were early and met the executives before they entered the conference room.\u00a0 One of the amazing things about HBCU\u2019s is that it brings together people from all backgrounds \u2013 all walks of life. You have kids with parents who have never attended college, alongside the children of executives.\u00a0 Some are prepared, groomed to sit in a boardroom. Others have only seen\u00a0boardrooms on television.<\/p>\n

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“..sometimes you have to see it to know you can achieve it…” ~ David Huntley,\u00a0Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, AT&T Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As the students walked in to the first small meeting, a woman who couldn\u2019t have been that much older than me pulled one student to the side and said, \u201clet me get you together.\u201d<\/strong> She started to dust off his shoulders and straighten his shirt and tie. It was something I remember seeing often when I was in business school. You have brilliant minds, but small things stand in their way \u2013 not having a suit, or not having one that is the proper color. These are obstacles that a lot of young people face when they are entering the business world, but for African American students, who often feel pressure to be better than their non-black counterparts, not getting it right can be a blow to their self-esteem.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTo compete and to win, you have to be the BEST that you can be.\u201d ~ David S. Huntley,\u00a0Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, AT&T Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

The executives leaned forward and listened to the students talk about their experiences working on the team in the program with AT&T.<\/strong>\u00a0 They asked questions, got feedback, and greeted students that they remembered from their visit to headquarters.<\/p>\n\n

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\u201cPeople have helped me along the way, so I try to give back and give honest answers.\u201d ~ Xavier Williams,\u00a0President, Public Sector and Wholesale Solutions, AT&T, Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\u201cShould I go in?\u201d a student asked me as he walked up late.<\/strong>\u00a0 There was one seat left at the head of the table, and he was hesitant to take it. He looked confident otherwise. No tie, but a sharp suit and small red flower on his lapel. I told him that he should go on in. He gathered himself, puffed out his chest a bit and went in. I remember being terrified of being late in business school, and I knew he was being \u201craised right\u201d when I saw that he had a healthy fear of being late, but the confidence to go in that room and get what he needed.<\/p>\n\n

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\u201cBe who you are. You love hip hop, then you love hip hop. You still have to be a professional.\u201d ~ Corey Anthony,\u00a0Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Chief Diversity Officer, AT&T Services, Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From the small conference room, we moved to a larger conference room where more students sat around tables set up in a U configuration.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

One by one they stood and announced who they were and where they were from. The majority of them wore the business school\/law school uniform \u2013 blue or black suit, white shirt, minimal jewelry.\u00a0 The students were introduced to the team from AT&T and had an opportunity to ask questions before the panel discussion in the auditorium.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI used “the look” to my advantage. While they try to figure out if I’m qualified, I’m running rings around ’em.\u201d ~ David S. Huntley,\u00a0Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, AT&T Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but think about what an extraordinary opportunity this was for these students. <\/strong>Getting to the top ranks of a major corporation is near impossible for most people, of any race or background, but for an African American who may be the first in their family to attend college, it may seem like a dream that cannot, will not be realized. These students were being given a roadmap to take them there by people who had done it, lived it. People who had lived the dream, were currently at the top of their game, and who looked like them.<\/p>\n\n

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“Being at the top requires sacrifice… You need mentors, sponsors, and people who can help you…” ~ David S. Huntley,\u00a0Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, AT&T Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

I was never going to be able to recreate the energy that was in that room, but I wanted to share as much as I could, so I nearly set fire to my cell phone tweeting the gems that the leaders from AT&T handed to the students.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u201cAm I going to be a black executive, or an executive who is black? The answer is, “yes.” ~ Xavier Williams,\u00a0President, Public Sector and Wholesale Solutions, AT&T, Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

The panel shared how they handled being African American and carrying the weight of being black in a corporate environment, stories about the decisions they had to make regarding family, and how to manage priorities while creating a career path for themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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“I always try to bring my best self to work every day no matter what is going on…” ~ Xavier Williams,\u00a0President, Public Sector and Wholesale Solutions, AT&T, Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

During the fireside chat, students asked questions about how to get hired and how to be more attractive candidates.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Real recruiters don’t read your resume from the top. We start at the bottom because THAT’S your story… ~\u00a0Jason Oliver, Vice President of Talent Acquisition<\/p>\n

If you are not in a leadership role in an organization on\u00a0Howard’s campus, you need to correct that now. ~ Corey Anthony,\u00a0Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Chief Diversity Officer, AT&T Services, Inc.<\/p>\n

My mother said, “the decisions you make in this moment will affect you for the rest of your life.” ~\u00a0Jason Oliver, Vice President of Talent Acquisition<\/p>\n

“Be who you aspire to be right now.” ~ Corey Anthony,\u00a0Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Chief Diversity Officer, AT&T Services, Inc.<\/p>\n

“Your career is going to be a marathon, it’s not going to be a sprint. Build a portfolio of skills…” ~ Xavier Williams,\u00a0President, Public Sector and Wholesale Solutions, AT&T, Inc.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes doing the right thing is hard… but ALWAYS make it right.” ~ David S. Huntley,\u00a0Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, AT&T Inc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Given Howard’s amazing Caribbean community, past and present, it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t have at least ONE Caribbean reference, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n