By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last Saturday, the Black Eco Chamber (BECO), a business development incubator designed to support Black-owned businesses in Washington State, hosted its 2nd annual BECO EXPO at the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle.
The event, which included multiple sessions throughout the day, brought together entrepreneurs, professionals, community members, stakeholders, and innovative pioneers in the name of fostering deep connections and promoting economic growth for the Black community in our region.
One of the powerful sessions of the day was The Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs Panel. With an emphasis on practical skills such as resume building, interview strategies, entrepreneurship, and navigating the early stages of career development, this panel was designed specifically for high school students and offered a unique opportunity for participants to hear directly from successful professionals and entrepreneurs who are passionate about sharing their knowledge and experiences.
“We tried to create this panel so they can get a little bit of everything that I think is going to matter as they are rolling through the evolution of their success journey in life, because there is so many twists and turns that I think having someone that has experience in multiple places can help guide them,” said Shyan Selah, founder of BECO. “All of these people here today are all creatives and cultured in their own way.”
Lorna Pack, Director of Digital Strategy at Brave New World Enterprises, brought valuable insight from her years at Verizon, where she interviewed thousands of people. Speaking to high school students, she said that one of the most important qualities employers look for in interviews is whether the person is enjoyable to talk to, and that one of the important things for young people to understand is that everything is built on relationships, especially in sales.
“There are certain characteristics that employers are looking for, and it is important for us to find what personality would best fit the team culture because every team is different,” said Pack. “The basics [that we would look for are] your persuasive skills, selling skills, are you able to ask questions, and do you have a competitive edge? Especially in a sales environment, those are all the things that I would look for.”
She also noted that while we are living in a time when people are actively seeking creative outlets and the freedom to express themselves culturally and artistically, for Black women this freedom can still come with challenges. According to NBC News, 66% of Black women reported changing their hair for a job interview to reduce the risk of being overlooked due to hair discrimination, and 25% believed they had been denied an interview because of their hair. Despite this, Pack believes that while prejudice still exists there are still ways to be professional while expressing your individuality.
“When I first started with Verizon, you couldn’t have crazy hair colors, tattoos, or piercings,” said Pack. “Nowadays, companies are much more accepting of natural hairstyles and just natural personality. But I would say that you have to go about job interviews with a little bit of intention, because you have to show up for the job you want. Sometimes it is just a matter of finding the right balance of expression as well as showing up professional, and I think there is definitely a way to fuse those two things together.”
“But personally, I am much more interested in how the person communicates opposed to how they look. That is so silly to me because that could be a great hire,” Pack continued.
In another segment, Geoff Foy from the University of Washington’s Continuing Education team spoke about alternative pathways to success in higher education. Foy, a longtime friend of Selah, addressed barriers many Black students face, such as systemic inequalities, limited resources, and socioeconomic pressures that often complicate the path to college.
“We see all kinds of pathways for a person like me who didn’t want to start right away at a four-year college,” said Foy. “You can go to a community college, a trade school, or a certificate program. Not everybody needs a bachelor’s or a master’s degree; you can do great work or have a great career with a credential.”
“Certificates or specialization in areas where you have a passion, and are adding value in your career trajectory, is continuing your education,” added Foy. “There is more value towards those non-credit or different pathways to success in career development, and not just always the traditional side for the bachelor’s and master’s degrees.”
To close the session, panelists asked students whether they were planning to attend college in-state or out-of-state. The responses reflected the students’ desire for new experiences.
“I want to go to college overseas. I want to experience everything while I am young and before having kids,” said one student. “Education is something you can come back to, but you can’t come back to childhood, so I would like to experience college somewhere international while I am young.”
“I want to experience all that I can, so I would want to try to go out of state for college,” said another. “I want to experience a new environment, meet new people, and try new things.”
The students also shared that they often feel the education system focuses heavily on subjects they believe may not be relevant to their lives or futures. However, Candice Richardson, Executive Vice President at Brave New World Enterprises, explained that while some topics may have seemed unnecessary at the time, her educational experiences and her upbringing as a young Black girl in the Pacific Northwest ultimately helped shape who she is today in her adult life.
“From a history perspective, I definitely took advantage and took as many different types of history classes, and it helped me widen my mind a lot,” said Richardson. “I did feel moments of anger, like why did I learn this as a kid, but then you become an adult, and you realize that the things that I learned in high school have helped inform me on many things, like our current political climate.”
“I remember testing a lot about the three branches of government, and I was like, I’m not going to be a politician, I don’t really need to know this, but it has been really helpful to have that knowledge in my adult life, and I am grateful,” she said.
