Student Pathways and Academic Formation accompanied 39 Norfolk State University students to the 2nd Annual Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) DevCon event held in Baltimore, MD, March 6-10, 2024. The department partnered with TMCF Talent Managers to prepare students for the four-day professional development event designed to enhance the professional aspirations of freshman and sophomore students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The goal of the event is to identify and develop high-potential HBCU talent.
According to TMCF, the leadership incubator equips students with fundamental business skills and professional competencies through leadership development, career readiness and targeted tech upskilling, while providing a pipeline of diverse talent to corporate hiring managers seeking to advance their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals. Workshops focused on teamwork and collaboration, resume writing, emotional intelligence, financial literacy, and personal branding.
Students interacted with companies including Adobe, ZS Associates, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), Tenable Cybersecurity, and Wells Fargo. With about 400 students attending the event, NSU student Makalya Forbes was one of three who received a $1000 scholarship from Wells Fargo and represented Norfolk State as a student speaker. “My experience at DevCon was nothing but amazing. This conference allowed me to network with my fellow HBCU scholars and several corporate companies,” stated Forbes. “I was able to expand my skill set and grow professionally because of the enriching and knowledgeable workshop sessions.”