C-K welcomes seven future leaders as part of its mentorship program.

This August, C-K welcomes seven college students as they join us for our new advertising industry mentorship program.

Earlier this year, we announced a partnership with Braven, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping promising, underrepresented young people transition from college to strong first jobs. We strongly believe in their mission in supporting first-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and students of color so that we can contribute to a pipeline of diverse talent for the advertising industry. Along with Braven, we also partnered with National Lewis University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to round out our local Chicago and Milwaukee-area mentees.

The two-week virtual program begins August 16 with a goal to expose young people from diverse backgrounds to a wide array of careers within the advertising and marketing industry. In week one, the program will concentrate on education with C-Kers across the agency involved in sharing the fundamentals of marketing through original sessions, account reviews and career panels. The second week will focus on immersion with mentees participating in agency meetings and workshops related to insights, brand activations and soft skills such as communication, developing strengths and a resume workshop.

The seven mentees joining us this year are:

1. Patricia Garcia, National Louis University
2. Jasmine Valdez, National Louis University
3. Karen Roman, University of Illinois Chicago
4. Piotr Kuszaj, Rutgers University
5. Areli Hernandez, National Louis University
6. Ireland Hinze, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
7. Melanie Orellana, Dominican University

We’re excited to get to know these talented students and show them what the advertising industry has to offer.