Month: August 2020

• Work on an independent project or portfolio with the support of our BroadFutures team.

Join us virtually on Thursday, October 22nd 

for BroadFutures Night of Giving!

The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB) is a member-based trade association for the world’s top commercial insurance and employee benefits brokerages. With a mission to promote their members’ business growth and drive the industry forward, CIAB prides themselves on being a community of forward-thinkers, leaders, and risk-takers who foster industry-wide relationships around the globe by engaging lawmakers, regulators and stakeholders to promote the interests of its members and the valuable role they play in the mitigation of risk for their clients. 

The Council joined as an employer partner in the winter of 2020, hosting two BroadFutures interns. We are excited to continue our partnership in the future. 

Julia Ruiz, Vice President of Leadership & Management Resources, reflected on CIAB’s experience during our Winter 2020 Program: “Hosting two BroadFutures interns this winter was such a rewarding experience for our office. Even with the sudden switch to working from home, the interns we hosted were motivated to work and continued to provide fresh new perspectives to the work we do. The BroadFutures team provided fantastic support not only to the interns, but to our staff as well.“

Thank you, Julia, for those kind words! We are so happy that even in the switch to working remotely, we were able to successfully see the internships through to the end. We look forward to continuing to work together in the future. You can learn more about CIAB here.

Meet Amonte Gwaltney for this month’s participant spotlight! An 18-year-old from Washington, DC, Amonte recently graduated from Kipp DC College Prep this spring. Directly following graduation, he joined us for our first-ever virtual summer program. We thoroughly enjoyed having Amonte participate in the Summer Strengths Program. He proved to be a very engaged, motivated, and empathetic participant, contributing greatly to our summer cohort. 

Amonte enjoyed how the program utilized multiple ways to deliver the curriculum. He appreciated the interactive component of the program, from breakout sessions to playing games to partnered discussions, which really helped solidify the curriculum for him.

Since completing the BroadFutures program, Amonte is now enrolled at Prince George’s Community College and hopes to pursue a career in special education. 

Amonte, we wish you the best of luck in your academic pursuits! We know you will thrive in whatever path you choose to explore.

CONGRATULATIONS

to our Summer Strengths Participants!

Earlier this month, we celebrated 15 remarkable participants as they successfully completed our first-ever virtual Summer Strengths Program. The participants, families, and our BroadFutures team gathered together for Final Presentations where we heard smart and confident speeches from the participants, reflecting on the five-week program.  It was an incredibly gratifying experience to see how our participants were able to build a strong and impactful community in a short period of time. We are very proud of their hard work and accomplishments!!

To all of our inspired participants, congratulations on completing the program and we wish you the best of luck in your next steps!!

Reflections from our Program Director, Ashley Bray

I have been fortunate to serve as the Program Director for the past year. What has been the most inspiring part of this work is seeing the success and transformation of our participants, where thinking differently is not only embraced, but encouraged. Innovation and transformation are at the very core of the work we do and true transformation comes from the ability to meet the moment. For so many young people, navigating the professional and academic worlds can be daunting. Adding in another layer of complexity of doing that exclusively online can be exceedingly challenging.

Enter our Summer Strengths Program. By refocusing our curriculum to specifically address the learning barriers that often arise in the virtual space, we were able to successfully create a community that met individuals where they were. Our curriculum was designed to enhance each person’s unique journey, celebrate our diversity, and encourage us to come together as a community. One of the biggest concerns I had about a virtual program was that our sense of community would be lost. However, the way our summer cohort consistently supported each other was a privilege to witness. Whether it was in mock interviews, during our communications curriculum or when we were being silly playing games – there was a depth of honesty and trust that was shared. This allowed for peer-to-peer feedback and conversations centered around growth and development. I was amazed at how much each participant was able to accomplish because they had the support and strength of each other. The shared experiences and long lasting connections that they were able to create during the program were incredibly moving. For our first cohort in a fully virtual program, they did so much more than just meet the moment. They transformed themselves into leaders whose impact will reverberate far beyond the virtual world.

Sign up for our Fall 2020 Strengths Program!

5 week Intensive Strengths Program: 

September 29th – October 30th

• Develop professional communication and self-advocacy skills.
• Master effective strategies for managing your time and building your executive functioning skills.
• Understand your learning style, strengths, and areas of support; learn how to ask for accommodations at school and the workplace.
• Build and refine your resume; enhance and elevate your LinkedIn profile.
• Learn the art of writing a strong cover letter.
• Understand and practice how to ace the interview.
• Learn financial literacy tips and tricks.

Optional additional 4-week Independent Project  or Portfolio: 

October 30th –  November  27th

• Work on an independent project or portfolio with the support of our BroadFutures team.

For more information, download the Fall 2020 Strengths Program Flyer  here.

Information Session – August 18th

Celebrating the 30th  Anniversary  of the ADA

 

BroadFutures featured in the 

Catalogue  for Philanthropy’s guest blog