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Talan in Da Bronx

The CEO of Talan Americas, Fayna Lionet, had the opportunity to meet the students of a Middle School in the South Bronx

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On June 24, 2016, the CEO of Talan Americas had the opportunity to meet the students of a Middle School in the South Bronx (“MS223 – The Laboratory School of Finance & Technology”) and present our day-to-day  work as IT and business consultants.

Talan in da bronx

With nearly 600 students ranging from 10 to 17 years old, MS223 is located in one of the most difficult areas of the Bronx. 97% of the kids in these schools are in poverty and suffer from an experience gap with their wealthier peers. MS223 offers a specialization in Technology and Finance in order to give these students knowledge and experience that will help them in their academic careers. To know more about MS223, Click Here.

Talan in da bronx

Ramón González, the principal of M.S. 223, a public middle school in the South Bronx.

Talan Americas' CEO, Fayna Lionet, recently met Ramón González, the principal of the school, “He is an amazing person, really passionate about the well-being of his kids and helping them achieve success in a more secure, stable and long term environment. He told me a while ago that he was seeking volunteers to share information and ideas about their careers with the students. These “Career Days” provide these kids a vision of what is possible in the world at large. He said that I could help and I was happy to participate in their Spring Career Day.”

The concept of Career Day is for the presenter to go from class to class and give a quick intro of their career path along with how they got into their current position –experience of life and work.

Talan in da bronx

Classes consist of between 15 and 30 kids; each presenter has about 15 minutes to present their experience. Then the students ask a variety of questions, in order to have an interactive presentation. Of course, if close to lunch time, this aspect can be short.

“Our beginnings might be very different – these kids come from the Bronx and their school has 600 students, while I come from a small village in France of less than 200 people,” explains Fayna. “But the idea is that wherever you come from, being driven, reliable and having a strong work ethic is a must to make it.”

Our hope at Talan Americas is that by presenting us, the students will learn that achieving success in life doesn't depend entirely on where you start, but on your work ethic, your ambition and what you make of the opportunities given.

As Fayna shared, “If you want your peers and mentors to give you a chance, you need to build trust and have integrity. It's ok not to be the best at everything, but it's just not ok to be less than who you can be!”

In the future, Talan may participate in Career Days or other mentoring activities, depending on what could be most beneficial for these adolescents.

Interested in participating in Career Day* or student mentoring? Feel free to reach out to MS223 at adowns@remove-this.ms223.remove-this.org.

*Next Career Day will take place on Friday, June 16th.