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Future Leaders Initiative Invests Early in Orange County Talent
The summer program encourages young students to explore classrooms and boardrooms just beyond their backyards.
By: Tanner Celestin
On the first morning of the Future Leaders Initiative program, Dean Ian O. Williamson had just finished his opening remarks. Standing at the front of a lecture hall filled front to back with high school and community college students, he asked if they now had any questions for him. After a moment of consideration, half a dozen hands raised, and the students jumped into this new summer experience by demonstrating not only depths of insightfulness beyond their years, but a hunger to engage and be heard by the Dean of the Merage School himself.
While touring local high schools the year before, Dean Williamson considered what might happen if he could bring the Merage School’s worldclass resources and educators to students even earlier than their arrival at UCI. When pairing this possibility with the thought of industry’s ongoing talent pipeline problem, he saw an opportunity to not only engage and develop young talent, but to impact Orange County’s future employers, start-up founders and decision makers that will soon change the digitallydriven landscapes of business and technology. The Future Leaders Initiative (FLI) is a six-week certificate program designed for local high school and community college students to learn directly from Merage School professors, industry-leading alumni, and groundbreaking experts in the fields of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, real estate, finance and entrepreneurship. Students are encouraged to explore what dreams they might accomplish by investigating career paths they had not considered possible before. “We have a pretty big vision for this,” said Dean Williamson on the program’s potential for long-term community impact. “We’re thinking about this program over the next ten years and how we can change the pipeline of talent that is flowing through these communities and into these sectors.”
FLI not only exposes students to new possibilities, but strengthens the talent pool by providing companies with decision makers from diverse backgrounds, worldviews and passions. During the inaugural program this summer, the Merage School partnered with several businesses, including LandSpire Group, We Global Studios, and PIMCO. The cohort was invited onto PIMCO’s campus in Newport Beach for an immersive lesson in the field of finance.
Javier Romo, executive vice president and emerging markets portfolio manager at PIMCO, believes that the program is valuable for prospective students and local employers. In
particular, the dynamic program aligns with PIMCO’s goals to foster better diversity in the workplace. He said young people from local communities may not be aware of the potential jobs they could pursue in the financial sector, so a program like the Future Leaders Initiative can have a transformational impact on participants’ lives.
“We were very excited to participate in the program,” Javier said. “I was particularly struck by the enthusiasm of the kids. They were all engaged and asked thoughtful questions. Also by taking part in the program, we’re not only helping these underrepresented groups, we’re also helping companies and employers diversify their employee base. That’s important because it provides more diverse views, which can only result in better outcomes.” Javier also said that it was fulfilling for him to take part in the program because of his own background. “I am of Hispanic descent and I have my own story,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to do well and prosper in an industry of which I didn’t know much about when I started. So, seeing that there are kids out there who are starting to show some interest and are excited about exploring this field, by helping them it makes me feel like I’m adding a little bit of value.” Learning from distinguished professionals like Javier, students from the first cohort found the program to be revelatory. “The Future Leaders Initiative allowed me to explore various career paths that I could potentially envision myself pursuing,” said student Andrew Rodriguez. “One particular field that I found eye opening was the space of medical technology. Hearing how gradual the progression is compared to consumer technology allowed me to brainstorm some questions. Luckily, FLI invited experienced professionals within the healthcare space to answer all my questions and provide future assistance with my business endeavors.“ Samueli Academy student Sean Doomun has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but the Future Leaders Initiative showed him how to leverage his talents into a career. Sean has also expanded his business network by using his newly-acquired communication skills and the connections he made during the program. “Throughout the FLI sessions, I was able to develop a confidence in myself that I know I want to create and run my own startup,” he said. “One of the greatest things I learned that I didn’t know at all before FLI is that being a likable and effective leader is as simple as sparking genuine interest in those you delegate tasks to.” Dean Williamson’s long-term goals for the program include the development of a thriving student alumni network in addition to diverse industry and faculty partnerships. 10-20 years from now, students like Sean hope to have the opportunity to be the ones presenting new ideas to those following in their footsteps. For now, Sean is aiming to give back to FLI by mentoring and providing crucial guidance to the next wave of students. His primary piece of advice: be curious.
“Throughout the program I used the platform given to me and the immense knowledge that speakers and faculty had to answer any questions that I had,” Sean said. “The speakers and faculty at FLI have the knowledge and experience to facilitate your curiosity, so I would advise students to be curious. These students can prove to be assets to innovative companies.”
Pimco’s Executive Vice President and Emerging Markets Portfolio Manager, Javier Romo, shares insights with this year’s FLI cohort while visit the PIMCO campus.
For more information about the Future Leaders Initiative:
