For #GivingTuesday, join me in closing military network gaps with American Corporate Partners

I missed the window to get an internship in 2012 while an undergraduate in Philadelphia. It was late October, and fellow students were sharing the lucrative internship offers they received for the following summer. It felt like everyone knew that they needed to interview for internships at the start of the new school year, everyone but me.?

Military community professionals entering the civilian workforce often have relatively closed networks. Their networks tend to consist of servicemembers still serving, which isn’t particularly helpful when entering the civilian workforce. This creates a network gap – the advantage some people have over others because of who they know – and separates military community professionals from industry professionals with opportunities.??

When I separated from the military, I lacked the civilian and student connections that would have helped me be informed about the importance and timing of internships. Others knew about the internships because the information was embedded in their networks.?

Fortunately, I learned about American Corporate Partners (ACP) in February of 2013. I completed my “Protégé” (an ACP mentee) application with the hopes of getting paired with a mentor in the finance industry. I figured the finance industry was a solid choice since I had learned to work well in stressful environments, and, well, I wanted to make good money.?

Not too long after I applied, ACP connected me with Keith Meixell, a Vice President at BlackRock. We first met for lunch and shared our career journeys. He shared what it was like to work in finance, and I shared what it was like to serve in the military. We met for an hour each month over the course of a year, and early in our mentor/Protégé relationship, I shared that I had missed the window on an internship for the summer. Keith mentioned he may know of an opportunity and began advocating for me to work at BlackRock for the summer.??

I worked for BlackRock that summer and, as the internship was ending, Keith helped me prepare to interview for a full-time role in San Francisco. He also connected me with colleagues to help expand my network. The relationship with Keith and his network connected me to economic opportunities that are typically elusive for someone with my background, and it has helped me become the person I am today.?

It didn’t take long for Keith and me to become good friends. My wife, Melissa, and I met his wife, Michele, and we watched their son, Ben, grow into a young man and a helluva golfer. Despite living on opposite coasts, I still feel connected to Keith and grateful for what he has meant to my life.?

I now feel ready to share my time and experience with a servicemember making the daunting transition into the civilian workforce, so I recently became an ACP mentor. I was paired with Tony James , an incredibly talented professional looking to continue his work in Learning and Development with an eye toward Social Impact (if you know of an opportunity, reach out to Tony, he is going places).?

For Giving Tuesday, or anytime really, I encourage you to help us close network gaps and make a meaningful difference for a military community professional by becoming an ACP mentor. The investment is your time and presence. By spending one hour a month with a veteran for a year, you, too, can change someone’s life, and, quite frankly, the lives of the people around them.??

Go to https://apply.acp-usa.org/mentor to become a mentor today!?