Draffin & Tucker shifts leadership program to virtual format
Jun. 16—ALBANY — Draffin and Tucker LLP recently hosted its annual THRIVE Summer Leadership Program for 30 rising college sophomores and juniors seeking a career in accounting. The program is designed to prepare students for their careers by offering a host of activities consisting of panel discussions, presentations, mock interviews and networking with professionals from Draffin Tucker.
Historically a two-day, in-person event, the organizers of SLP 2021 were determined to think outside of the box to keep the safety of students top priority in the post-COVID world. The event, harnessing the technology of online meetings, was moved to a virtual one-day format allowing for presentations, breakout sessions, games, and virtual networking rooms — all in real-time.
The firm overcame a hurdle to pivoting the event from in-person to a virtual format with a bit of creativity.
"All of our past SLP events have included time set aside for students to serve the community in a hands-on setting — something fundamental to our firm," Cheryl Glover, Draffin Tucker's human resources manager, said. "At first, it seemed impossible to continue that aspect in a virtual format, but our leadership team brainstormed a solution."
This year, the event incorporated a group project that allowed students to research, plan and recommend a charitable organization to receive a $1,000 donation from Draffin Tucker. Students worked in randomly selected small groups to present their recommendation to a panel of judges comprising Draffin Tucker team members. Presentations were made for Boy Scouts of America Georgia Council, Easterseals, and Open Hand Atlanta, which are among several organizations that the firm supports on an ongoing basis in Albany and Atlanta — the two locations of Draffin Tucker offices.
"It was impressive to see a bunch of relative strangers come together in such a short period of time and put together their presentations," Draffin Tucker Manager Laura Stair said.
In the end, it was SLP Group Five selected as the winning group because of its members' organization, knowledge, content and delivery of their presentation on Open Hands Atlanta, recipient of the $1,000 donation. The members of this group were Madeline Everett, Mikalia Tucker, Caroline McKean, Aaron Jacobson, Drew Griffin and Kacey Roberson.
"We are very grateful to have the opportunity to invest in the next generation of leaders in our industry," Jeff Wright, the firm's managing partner, said. "After such a challenging year across the world in 2020, it is encouraging to see so many college students who are eager to graduate and begin their career paths."
For more information on Draffin Tucker's Summer Leadership Program or campus recruitment, visit Draffin-Tucker.com.
To learn more about Open Hand Atlanta, visit OpenHandAtlanta.org.
