The Hopeworks Alumni Beacon Board hosted their second successful event on August 12th at Rutgers University - Camden. The event was an informative session about how to create and run your own business - a topic of interest requested by many alumni! Hopeworks was fortunate to host Andrea Jack, MAFM, CEO, D&P Financial Services; Taria Avery, CEO, Avery's Pet Styling; Roy Lamboy, President and CEO, LADEA; and Melissa Le, Waterfront Labs as our four speakers. They shared their stories and journeys navigating the business world. Their stories inspired and helped guide aspiring alumni entrepreneurs. There was also an opportunity for networking and conversation that allowed our alumni to connect with established, self- motivated professionals.
In addition to our inspirational speakers, Hopeworks alumni were represented in strong numbers! The alumni board members Yesenia Nieves, Adriana Castro, Marcus Williams, and George Hernandez were in attendance. The dedicated alumni board was there to talk to current Hopeworks trainees and interns as they anticipate some of the struggles facing them when they transition out of Hopeworks. One Hopeworks alumni, Nickolas Boker, shared that his take-away from the event was an interest in applying for the LADEA business scholarship.
The alumni beacon board is hard at work planning our next event scheduled to happen in December - stay tuned for more information!