Javen Washington, student at North Carolina A&T State University.
Amazon is reaching out to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for the next generation of talent. Why? In order to be innovative, the company believes it must ensure its teams reflect diverse backgrounds as this approach helps build a more inclusive and equitable workplace. In recent months, Amazon has focused its efforts on creating more student internship programs for HBCU students. Throughout the summer of 2022, the company added interns across various work areas, and assigned these interns mentors to help them better navigate the company, and to learn more hands-on professional skills.
This past weekend (August 12-15) Amazon hosted “Beyond the Yard” an event in Washington, D.C. focused on building skills and enhancing student potential. The over 250 HBCU student attendees participated in workshops facilitated by Amazon HBCU alumni at various stages of their careers. These workshops were designed to help students develop existing talents and create new skillsets—from interview practice and resume writing, to honing their personal brand.
To date, Amazon has partnerships with 20 HBCUs with the goal of cultivating mutually beneficial relationships. The HBCUs include: Alabama State University, Bethune Cookman University, Bowie State University, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta, Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University, Spelman College, Tennessee State University, Texas Southern University, Tuskegee University, Virginia State University, and Xavier University.
According to Sullivan Summer, Director of Recruiting Engine, Student Programs at Amazon, “HBCUs play a vital role in developing Black professionals, and helping to bridge the STEM gap we face as a nation. Our work together is not only helping to address systemic barriers, but has positive economic and financial impacts beyond our program.” Summer believes that HBCUs are the logical choice for partnerships because the data show that they disproportionately produce talented professionals. As she expanded, “When I think about collaborating with HBCUs the data speaks for itself: HBCUs produce almost 20% of all Black graduates and 25% of Black graduates in STEM fields. We want the best talent and one of the places to find it is within HBCUs.”
Javen Washington a junior at North Carolina A&T State University, was an operations intern this summer. Washington, who is pursuing a B.S. in accounting, shared “Interning at Amazon was a great experience for me. The best thing about my internship was knowing that every day would have its own challenges. Figuring out how to solve them was something I looked forward to. I enjoyed applying divergent thinking and quick decision-making when working in one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers, a key part of the company’s business.” Washington worked with 500 team members daily and throughout the process he learned that his “soft skills oftentimes outweighed his hard skills.” As he explained, “It doesn’t matter how much I know or how much I can do on my own if I can’t connect with real people and work as a team.”
Zaria Lontae Pompey-Smith, student at North Carolina A&T State University.
Zaria Lontae Pompey-Smith was an intern with Amazon in the summer of 2020. She graduated from North Carolina A&T State University, majoring in speech pathology and audiology, and is now working full-time at Amazon. For Pompey-Smith, the experience was inspiring. As she stated, "As an HBCU alumnus, I look back fondly at my internship experience. As part of the program, interns are placed in environments where many people who are just like them are thriving, and there are several different organizations that they can join to network and hasten their success."
Access to internships is key for HBCU students as it allows them to be more competitive for jobs upon graduation. According to the HBCU Career Center, “Not only do employers seek applicants who are fluent in their job duties, but they also want to hire employees who are multidimensional.” The HBCU Career Center advises HBCUs students on the importance of internships, noting that internships demonstrate drive, provide important context for the profession that they want to pursue, and are essential for networking.
