Diverse students looking to get ahead in the business world will have an opportunity to meet with several businesses and student organizations Wednesday.

The Diversity Business Summit, which will run all day tomorrow at Schine Student Center, will feature employers from several different businesses looking to diversify their work force.

‘We have 40 employers attending this year,’ said Greg Victory, assistant director of career services at Syracuse University, which helped organize the event. ‘And whereas before we had 18 student organizations represented at the summit, now we have so many that we have to turn some away.’

According to Victory, the Summit will kick off with individual morning sessions for both employers and students. The sessions will focus on discussions about aspects of diversity in the workplace, such as ways for students to market themselves in a competitive work environment and the benefits of a diverse workforce to employers.

Students will also have the opportunity to speak in a smaller setting with employers, allowing them direct contact with students and potential employees from diverse backgrounds.

‘It’s a meaningful way for students to connect with employers,’ Victory said. ‘It brings together the core values of educational diversity that SU prides itself on.’

Though all students are invited to attend, the Summit has been designed to specifically cater to the career needs and aspirations of disabled, colored, and international students, as well as members of the LGBT population, women, and students with certain religious affiliations.

‘Diversity is not a race issue,’ said Travis Mason, president of the African American Male Congress, which founded the event. ‘It deals with other cultures and languages as well. The purpose of the Summit is to expose employers and [people of diverse backgrounds] to jobs.’

First-year students, as well as senior and even graduate students alike, are welcome to explore the opportunities offered at the event and learn about various jobs and ways to prepare for them.

‘[The Summit] was originally known as the Black Business Summit, but now, since its name was changed in 2002, all students are invited to attend,’ Victory said.

In addition to employer interaction with students, the Summit will also feature a keynote address by Kwame Jackson, runner-up on last year’s season of the reality TV show ‘The Apprentice.’ Jackson will share his own insights on diversity in the business world.

‘Kwame was a minority on the show and still managed to go far,’ said Nathifa Charles, a junior majoring in information studies, who is participating in the event. ‘The Summit is geared towards minorities and diversity, because SU is a segregated campus.’

Other events at the Summit include a networking reception for students with several student organizations in the Shaffer Art Building and Lowe Art Gallery, an event sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

In the past, more than 130 employers and 500 students have been informed about diversity in the workplace and the issues surrounding it. Over 200 students attended last year’s Summit.

‘I’m enthusiastic about the Summit, the speaker, and the diverse crowd,’ Mason said. ‘This year’s employers seem really enthusiastic about diversifying [their workforce].’

Published on September 27, 2004 at 12:00 pm