The Eric J. Joiner Achievement Academy
Be all YOU can be
The Eric J. Joiner Achievement Academy
Be all YOU can be
The Robinson College of Business has introduced the Eric J. Joiner Achievement Academy, a 3-year professional development program for undergraduate students.
Who is eligible?
Applicants must be currently enrolled Georgia State University students who are first-year, second-semester pre-business majors in good academic standing.
Contact Us
Jason Aldrich
assistant dean, strategic partnerships and career Advancement
jaldrich@gsu.edu
About the Program
The Joiner Achievement Academy will accelerate participants' career and professional development. Students will complete two experiential learning activities and two career-oriented internships that will position them to land jobs at innovative organizations upon graduation.
Examples of Activities
• Cohort Experiences – onboarding retreat, Escape the Room, junior boot camp, volunteering
• Courses – a personal and professional development course (for first-semester sophomores)
• Career Accelerators – shadowing opportunities, case competitions, professional association conferences, guest speakers, corporate site visits
Coaching and Mentoring
Participants will have multiple opportunities to engage with alumni and business leaders to gain individual feedback on their career plans.
Scholarships
Students who participate in the program and successfully complete the required activities will have an opportunity to apply for a $1,000 scholarship to support their professional development between their sophomore and junior year, and a $1,500 scholarship between their junior and senior year. Students who are selected to receive scholarship funding must be deemed eligible by the Office of Student Financial Aid.
How You Can Get Involved
We are looking for professionals and companies to partner with us to share this experience with our students. We hope the best practices identified below spark your imagination about how you might become involved. Our collaborative approach to the development of signature programs includes incorporating others’ feedback and ideas, so feel free to share yours with us.
Alumni Champions
Alumni can champion the program in their organizations, or leverage their networks to identify other organizations who may become hosts. Alumni Champions and Friends of Robinson also provide support in the following ways:
Connectors
Alumni and friends are invited to a networking reception with students, faculty and leadership, providing an opportunity to form valuable connections.
Career Opportunities and Mentoring
Identifying internships and job opportunities as well as mentoring participants are also invaluable ways to support the program.
Financial Support
Alumni and friends often support our signature programs by helping to underwrite costs. Over time, many signature program alumni go on to support these experiences financially as well.
Organization Hosts
Visiting innovative organizations, meeting professionals at a variety of levels, and engaging with them in meaningful ways are hallmarks of our signature programs.
Our best visits typically run 1.5 to 2 hours and include the following elements:
Career Opportunities
Learning about internships, entry-level roles and career paths
Young Professionals
Panel discussions and networking roundtables
Tours
Many organizations have interesting physical spaces and will provide a tour of the facility.
Food
Firms often host students over breakfast or lunch, or offer refreshments.
Unique Experiential Opportunities
In order to maximize learning, we collaborate with firms who host our students to make their visit experiential.
Examples include:
Morning Call
Students have listened in on the morning conference call of an equity research team at an investment bank and engaged in follow-up discussion.
Brainstorming
One firm asked students to attend a new product development meeting.
Pre-Read
Several organizations have provided information on an issue to review and analyze prior to meeting and asked students to engage with a subject matter expert.
Student Team Projects
We actively are seeking firms who are interested in having our students engage in a team project as part of this new program.