UC ADVANCE Then and Now: One Family's Story

The University of Cincinnati became a trendsetter in 1986 when a group of students and staff launched

ADVANCE

, an organization aimed at helping African-American students better achieve career success.

Since then, the student organization has helped more than 1,700 underrepresented-minority graduates gain the crucial professional skills, savviness and self-confidence to pursue successful careers after graduation.   

For the Brooks family of Columbus, ADVANCE is also a family affair.  

Tiffany, a senior majoring in food and nutrition with an eye on medical school, assumed leadership this fall as the organization’s president. Her brother, Howard III., a freshman studying architectural engineering and a

Darwin T. Turner scholar

, is a new member.  

Both are following in the footsteps of their parents, Howard and Denise, who served on the organization’s leadership team in its early years.

Howard, now a vice president at JPMorgan Chase in Columbus, served as the organization’s second president in 1987. Denise, a gifted program coordinator, was its vice president that same year.

The couple both graduated from UC with bachelor’s degrees in 1988, Howard’s in information systems and Denise’s in biology.  

Serving in ADVANCE not only gave them invaluable business and leadership skills, but also helped bring the couple closer, they say.  

“If you talk to anyone who knew us, when you saw one on campus, you saw the other,” Howard said with a laugh.

A New Approach

UC already offered workshops on interviewing and resume-writing when Terry Davis, then the assistant director of the

Career Development Center

, sensed a need for a more sustained and targeted approach for minority students.  

“Students within the (African-American) community frequently do not have the contacts or the exposure to the kinds of activities or individuals that are going to help them advance their careers as other groups have,” she explained. “There seemed to be a particular need for underrepresented students.”

Career development organizations abound at universities today, but in 1986, the concept of a professional development organization geared towards minority students was a novel one, says Davis.  

She and a core group of students envisioned a program that would help minority students develop and enhance professional development and leadership skills, while also helping them learn and understand business etiquette and corporate culture.  

Not only was ADVANCE among the first organization of its kind, its student-led structure also set it apart, Davis says.  

“Within ADVANCE, the mission was their own professional development,” she said. “By being professional and holding these leadership positions, they were tending to the objective of the organization itself. They had to get the speakers, book the rooms and create the advertising. Everyone was all in and I think that’s what made the difference.”  

Howard, a first-generation college student, learned about ADVANCE after his boss at a summer job suggested he contact UC’s Career Development Center for guidance on landing a job after graduation.

It wasn’t long before he and Denise assumed leadership positions within ADVANCE and began promoting the fledgling organization.   

“I liked how they talked about interviewing and networking and the psychology behind how people think in the business world. At the time, there wasn’t a whole lot in terms of how to write a resume or how to network. Our kids start this stuff in high school now, but all that was new to us,” said Howard.  

Howard and Denise’s love blossomed as the two spent countless hours each month planning monthly programs, securing guest speakers, printing up flyers and distributing them on campus and promoting events among their fellow students – not an easy task in a pre-social media world.  

“It was brand new so we had to figure out how to market and get people to come in and see what we were about,” said Howard. “You had to come up with a marketing plan and think like a business.”

“We had no internet and barely a printer,” remembered Denise with a laugh.  

‘A Giant Leap Forward’

Nearly 30 years later, the rise of the internet has made communication a much easier task, says Tiffany. While the organization’s goal remains the same, ADVANCE has expanded and diversified to prepare students for an increasingly global society.    

The organization continues to hold larger monthly events that draw an average of 50-60 people, but members also collaborate to hold several smaller topical events each month focused on specific majors or interests.  

Programs still focus on the basics – resume writing, interviewing and networking – but also include topics like understanding emotional intelligence, how to land internships or help with deciding on a career path.  

“We want to move over the resume writing.  Most of the people my age get that experience now in high school, so we want to take that to the next level,” explained Tiffany. “We want to prep people for what they really want to do and how they can go about doing it.”

Each year, members have the opportunity to go on a spring break corporate excursion. This year’s trip took students to New York City, where they met with corporate movers-and-shakers from Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, minority-owned businesses and governmental agencies.

Members also participate in four community service excursions each semester, such as volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House or collecting groceries for the Freestore Foodbank.

“Volunteering helps bring not only the organization together, but also the community,” said Tiffany. “You see what’s really happening in the world and who we can affect.”

Howard and Denise continue to be involved in ADVANCE alumni activities and say they’re proud of the organization they helped build and the direction it’s taken.

“It’s fun to watch,’ said Howard. “The kids have a chance to go to places and meet with senior vice-presidents who have a very big impact inside and outside their companies. That’s a giant leap forward from what we were doing.”