Business Partnerships Outlook 2023
Partnerships with local area businesses are an integral part of the Avenue Scholars program. Through these partnerships, Avenue Scholars students can explore a variety of career fields and high-demand career positions. Business Relations Manager Audrey Gustin shares more about the business partnership program and her goals and hopes for the future of the program in our interview below:
What is your role with Avenue Scholars, and when did you join the team?
My role with Avenue Scholars is the Business Relations Manager and I also serve as the department head for the Business Outreach Team. I started with Avenue Scholars back in November of 2021, working primarily in the Intern Omaha realm as an Internship Coordinator.
What is the value for Avenue Scholars of having business partners in the community?
Our mission is to bridge the gap between education and business. Without our amazing business partners, we would not be able to provide opportunities for career exploration and professional development to our Scholars.
What has Avenue Scholars achieved so far with recruiting/engaging with business partners in the area?
Throughout business partnership engagements, we have been able to offer students career exploration, job shadows, internships, and ultimately full-time employment.
What are Avenue Scholars’ future goals with outreach and partnership with businesses in the community?
Our future goals are looking to strengthen maintain current partnerships, as well as continuing to diversify our roster of partners to provide students with a variety of opportunities.
Are there any specific businesses or types of businesses you hope to bring on as partners?
We’re always looking to grow partnerships within various industries. However, this year we’re looking at putting that intentional focus on cultivating partnerships in culinary, mental health and human services, as well as looking at opportunities for young women in skilled trades.
Have there been any changes to Avenue Scholars’ vision or programming in working with business partners?
I think our vision is really ever-changing because our focus is on students and what their needs are.
We’ve looked at adding more professional development programming for our students because it provides easy access points for business partners to participate in that programming. For example, we have mock interviews coming up in February where students will have an interview with a caring professional and will receive immediate feedback. Events like this provide our students with low-stakes opportunities to practice their interview skills.
If businesses are interested in learning more about partnering with Avenue Scholars in 2023 and beyond, how can they start that process?
Businesses who are interested can reach out to me via email at [email protected]. I would love to hear more about their organization and the great work they’re doing and seeing if they would be a good fit to partner.
You can also learn more about business partnerships, and see the work we’ve done with some of our existing business partners by visiting the business partners page on our website.
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