FedEx is thinking out of the box — and the firm’s new direction takes aim at honing leadership and career-ready skills to prime university students for its next wave of future executives.
The firm launched its FedEx-HBCU Student Ambassador Program, an education initiative that helps prepare students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities to be future leaders, with opportunities to learn about the FedEx enterprise from its executives, build a professional skill-set, and partake in unique experiences while also “helping expand the company’s pipeline for diverse talent,” all according to the company.
Its student participants were selected from the following HBCUs: Jackson State University (Jackson, Miss.); Tennessee State University (Nashville, Tenn.); LeMoyne-Owen College (Memphis, Tenn.); Mississippi Valley State University (Itta Bena, Miss.); Lane College (Jackson, Tenn.); Paul Quinn College (Dallas, Texas); Miles College (Fairfield, Ala.); and Fayetteville State University (Fayetteville, N.C.).
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The program will officially begin in March, with its first cohort of students participating in virtual and hybrid meetings. FedEx said that it intends to introduce a new cohort each year in alignment with its five-year commitment to HBCUs that the firm announced last year.
Students were selected based on their career interests in various areas, FedEx said, inclusive of e-commerce, sustainability, IT/tech, logistics, marketing communications, sales, data/analytics, and operations. Students can participate in seminars designed to provide empowerment, engagement and education, the firm noted, in addition to “access to resources that will hopefully offer them an edge as they prepare to enter the workforce after college.”
Its first cohort of student participants will “help set the direction” for upcoming FedEx Ambassador programs, such as career pathways initiatives, HBCU leadership institutes, and student forums/think tanks.
FedEx leaders, school presidents, and student program participants took part in a ceremonial presentation during the ringing of The Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 1 to commemorate the launch of the program, and a nationwide celebration of Black History.
Judy Edge, corporate vice president, human resources, FedEx, said that the program “will continue to strengthen our important relationships with HBCUs across the country. We’re preparing tomorrow’s leaders, and the students we reach through this program will gain valuable practical experience that will help prepare them to enter the workforce. It will also help us to continue to bring diverse talent into our pipeline at FedEx.”
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