Community Engagement

Today we had about a dozen young people come in to spend time with about two dozen BDOers. They came very excited and very eager to learn. We wanted to get them to know one another, kind of get out of their comfort zones and stretch their networking skills. Oftentimes they're so busy with school and they don't have that special capital readily available to them. I wouldn't be here without the mentors that helped me throughout my career. Giving back and taking the time to help the students with their journey makes a difference. Being able to have someone older than you help guide the ropes because as young people, it's very important to have someone that we can look up to. It was awesome. The networking, the small groups, I got to meet so many great interns. I got to meet so many great people from like different career paths as well. I feel like the reason I'm here at BDO today was because one of the first lessons I learned from my mentor was accountability. Being accountable and understanding that like to be somewhere in life or to get to the thing that you want to get to, you have to work for it. A career path is not linear. There are going to be trials, tribulations, but it really does take the ability to ask someone else for help and for really having that person that's willing to give that help to them. The one big thing that I learned from today and would take with me for my future career is continue to work hard, be myself, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Collaborating with Big Brothers Big Sisters is so meaningful to BDO because we get to focus on the talent pipeline. It really allows us to prepare them to grow with confidence in a time that's really important in their lives. They've got big questions to answer as their futures are just right in front of them, and we really hope to spark some curiosity and inspire them to explore careers in this profession.