The summer in between graduating high school and starting college, my Dad “made me” take a summer job with a friend of his at a local nonprofit in Buffalo. I would be helping while someone was on leave by filing, stuffing envelopes, mailing new hire packets, answering incoming calls, taking meeting minutes, you name it. I came in every day and did as I was asked.
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is pleased to present the 2019 BN360 Spotlight Professionals, with the support of Alpine Films.
Attracting and retaining young professionals remains a key focus as the region looks to sustain and build upon its resurgence. But by 2022, data projections from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the nation’s population of professionals ages 25-34 will grow by 4 percent, while that population in our own region is expected to decline by about 1 percent.
“The mission of Morehouse College is to develop men with disciplined minds who will live lives of leadership and service.”
~ Excerpt, Morehouse College Mission Statement
As BN360, the Partnership’s young professional engagement and development program, kicks off its 2019 programming year, we sat down with Rachael Herrmann, our BN360 Program Manager, to learn more about BN360 and how it can help young professionals throughout the region achieve their professional goals in 2019.
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is pleased to present the 2019 BN360 Spotlight Professionals, sponsored by Alpine Films.
Growing up on the east side of Buffalo in municipal housing, as long as I can remember, the greatest point of college entry and later success was through sports. However, unlike most kids in my neighborhood whose end goal was to play for the NFL or the NBA, I wanted to be like my dad. He was a hard worker; a God-fearing man who treasured his family above all. Like many other African American men in my community, college was not an option for him. Nonetheless, he did everything he could to make ends meet.
As an Urban Planner I am often asking clients, community members, stakeholders and elected leadership to articulate their “why”. Sometimes the “why” surfaces through a series of questions or public engagement activities. In my profession, everyone I interact with has an opinion or an insight that needs to be captured, digested and turned into usable data, which eventually informs a neighborhood, municipal, district, regional plan or public space design.
When I was younger, I wanted to be a garbage man. I thought it would be really cool to cruise around town hanging off the back of the truck! I also, gave some serious thought to being a professional football player or a rock star, and when those didn’t pan out, I considered going into Psychology. However, I remembered that while I was growing up I spent many of my weekends sweeping and mopping floors at the chemical etching/metal fabrication business that my father built.
When I was an undergrad in college, I read a book that included the following statement:
