 HBCU Dutchess Radio welcome back to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund advocacy series profiling the best and brightest from historically black college and university student ranks as well as the people behind the scenes working to make TMCF a valuable asset to the HBCU community. Tonight, our distinguished guest is Dana Brown. She is the program director for the Hennessy Fellows Program, a partnership between Hennessy and TMCF working to train distinguished graduate students. A unique path here, distinguished graduate students as they prepare for life in the C-suite unlocked. So Dana, thank you so much for your time this evening. Thank you, Jared, for having me. So tell us a little bit more about this program. Again, this is really unique and exciting because oftentimes we hear about opportunities for undergraduate students. This is something specifically for graduate students. So tell us a little bit more about the program. This is a unique opportunity. It's an opportunity for HBCU's graduate students to be mentored and cultivated for corporate leadership roles. Thurgood Marshall College Fund has been extremely successful in the education space with undergraduate students for quite some time. And Hennessy has had a purpose of cultivating culturally and championing and celebrating diversity within our community and otherwise. But the two together have reimagined diversity specifically for HBCU graduate students to have an opportunity to become candidates in the pipeline for C-suite positions. Something that we haven't seen a lot of and that we now know is a huge opportunity within diverse community. Yeah, tell us a little bit more about that because one of the taglines for this program is unlocking the C-suite. And even though HBCU's get a lot of credit for really, really diversifying the leadership pipeline in a lot of different industries like healthcare and law and public and civil service, entrepreneurial, you know, development and business building. What is it behind that model of unlocking the C-suite that's so important and so important for HBCU's to be a part of? Well, the heart number truth is in 2017 of the four Black Seals and the Fortune 500 company, Now We're Women. If we look at only 8% of Fortune 500 board seats were held by Black executives. And to date in the history of Fortune 500 companies, we've only seen roughly 14 Black CEOs. So that's the heart truth and a challenge that's before us. That's what makes this program definitely needed. And that's what makes the initiative imperative for both Hennessy and Thurgood Marshall College fun to get behind. When we think about the students, the HBCU's graduate students, students who have an opportunity at the beginning of their career, if provided with not only the funding that the scholarship shares with the students in terms of dollars, but also professional development, this will help their trajectory and provide them with the tools that they need to be even more competitive than their peers as well as people who do not look like them that may be getting this task acknowledged otherwise. One of the things that is promised to program participants is curated corporate experience. Tell us a little bit about that and why that's so important for a workforce development initiative like this. Now, absolutely, one of the big programs that we're so excited about and the students had a phenomenal take away from was our boot camp. And the boot camp is a professional development experience where the scholars are specifically focused on immersing themselves in the business of professional development. And we brought in for this experience executives within the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy family outside of that family to really share experiences, provide workshops tailored specifically around key and core competencies that we know the students need to be successful in competencies such as analytical skills, communication skills, leadership skills, et cetera. And just to be clear, so people don't get the wrong idea. This is not just an internship with Hennessy Moet. This is actually training that Hennessy and TMCF are partnering to provide, but it gives kind of a basis for leadership and critical thinking and analytical capability in a bunch of fields, right? Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, that's just one of the curated corporate development experiences that we have. We also have an executive coach and strategist that the 10 fellows are able to leverage as well as meet regularly one-on-one with. There's also an executive mentor. When we say executive, we mean senior VP presidents and CEOs that each fellow has been provided as they go through this program. In addition, the CEO of Moet Hennessy has agreed to mentor each fellow within the program. So aside from the one-on-one relationship that they're developing with a senior executive, they also have a strong commitment from the Moet Hennessy family. Wow, that's pretty impressive when you got a CEO on speed dial at some point in your career. Absolutely. When you think about what distinguishes HBCUs as an ideal training ground for this kind of an opportunity, what is it about some of the 47 schools you represent and others that lets corporate folks know if you really, really want to tap capable and excited talent, you've got to look at black colleges? What is it about our institutions that really gets people hopeful for the opportunity to kind of cultivate a diverse workforce? We know we have a pool of the best and the brightest within HBCUs and we know we have the support that they're being provided by faculty and staff as well as being partners with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. And we also know that some of these are an underserved pool of talent that we want to make sure we bring resources and focus and opportunity to. This is not just an opportunity, you can just send an email. You have to do a full vetting, a full, kind of a full application process. What can people expect when they want to reach out and get this opportunity? I'm glad you asked, you're right. We are looking for the best and brightest. We're looking for leaders. We're looking for leaders who are looking to take on leadership roles, not only within corporate America, but also within their community. So an additional benefit that we didn't talk about is huge is a capstone project where we are awarding the Hennessy Fellows up to $10,000 to start an initiative within their community that they're passionate about. So that's another piece that's huge. We're looking for leaders who can lead in the boardroom as well as on the playground and in their communities about programs that they're passionate about and change that they want to see happen within their communities. So that's a huge part. And because we're looking for that special individual, you're right. You can't just send in an application and that's the simple evaluation. There's much more. You are requested to provide a resume, a resume that shows and highlights leadership skills, again, being a leader in school in your community and on the jobs that you've held. That's a thing that we're looking for. In addition, we're looking for two recommendation letters, character references, academic or professional letters, as well as a 500 to 750 word essay as part of what you provide. And then additionally, we have a professional development assessment that assesses your cultural fit within corporate America. In addition to that, there's a phone screen. If we have not been to your campus at this point, there are phone screens. And then once you have the initial phone screen, you'll also go through the process and interview through higher view, which is a recorded interview that will be submitted. So we are looking for the best and the brightest and we are putting you through quite a thorough vetting process to make sure that we get just that, the best and the brightest. It's interesting because if you've ever been to a Thurger Marshall kind of training program, it's no joke. It's actually pretty intensive. It's not just you just showing up and having a ball in DC somewhere. If you ever go to L.I., you go to Muppie or something like that. They have you up at 8 and you leave in the boardroom at 8. So they're not playing when they train you. Is this that kind of opportunity, this preparation for the boardroom? It's interesting that you say that because when you think about the boot camp, it's not to be taken lightly. Yes, we have curated phenomenal experiences with senior executives or some of the top organizations, as well as an opportunity to get to know the Hennessy brand, the liquid itself and how it's made, et cetera. But there is a rigor to it. That's why it's called boot camp. You're up early and the day goes. A lot of people think they go, oh, yeah, I'm going to go to the club. And now it's going to be fun. I might have fun in DC. And then you figure out, yeah, you go see us for breakfast at 7. 15. You will have fun. You will be working. It is boot camp. And all for, again, your professional betterment. So I think the rich experience will be life changing. It's meant to be transformative. That's the design. And so far it's been the execution as well. So we're happy about it, but you are right. We also want individuals, when you take on this application, when you take on the opportunity to be serious about it, because it is work. You have to work to be the best. You have to work to ascend to CEO, COO, CMO. So that's what we're looking for. People who are serious about their professional development and have a vision for themselves and their career. You've had the opportunity to work with TMCF and programs like the ones we just discussed. What is it like to see people come into the program and it starts to click, OK, this is what it takes. This is how networking goes. This is how I can internalize some of these opportunities. What is it like to see people really get immersed and take advantage of what TMCF is offering? Garrett is incredibly rewarding. It's rewarding to see the fire, the drive and the desire and the Hennessy Fellows that we've chosen thus far. We're excited again, this next cohort, cohort two. Just as we've had phenomenal experiences planned for the first cohort to see them absorb the information and most importantly, action it as well almost immediately, it's incredibly rewarding. And it also underscores why this program is necessary. So, you know, as we are looking at the next cohort, cohort two, the application has been open since August. It's closing December 31st. You know, we just can't underscore how rewarding it is for us to give back and to pour into these students and we're anxious to do so for the next 10. We appreciate your time. It's even before we let you go. Tell us how people can get more information, how they can apply and run that deadline by them again because we are what, like a week, like two weeks out from Thanksgiving. So December is right around the corner. You said Thanksgiving holiday, why? Why? Does everybody know how they can take, get more insight and more information about this opportunity? Absolutely. Go to www.tmcf.org. Backslash HFP for more information. Apply online. Again, the application period will close December 31st. There's an online application with an essay and assessment, your virtual interview and your phone screen. And don't forget the 500 to 750 word essay. We want you to make sure you take your time thinking through your thoughtful response because that is going to be weighed significantly in this process. So we look forward to, again, www.tmcf.org. Backslash HFP, seeing your applications and having them reviewed and in before December 31st.