How Arnika Jackson Is Equipping HBCU Students For Real-World Success

With today’s competitive job market, academic excellence alone isn’t enough. Students need real-world resources, networking opportunities, and confidence to navigate professional spaces with intention. That’s exactly what the UNCF Student Leadership Conference has been offering for the past 15 years, and this year, it’s leveling up another notch.

Hosted in Arlington, VA, the multi-day event brings together roughly 140 high achieving students from HBCUs across the country for an engaging experience designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and career preparation. From business simulations and student podcast production to intimate mentorship sessions with top executives from companies like Disney and National Geographic, the conference is a roadmap for early career empowerment.

At the heart of it all is Arnika Jackson, Director of Student Professional Development Programs at UNCF, who helps shape the experience and ensure every student leaves more prepared and more inspired than when they arrived.

Her Agenda caught up with Arnika, who shared what makes this year’s conference special, how the program has evolved, and what true career preparation looks like for this year and beyond.

Her Agenda: How has the mission of the Student Leadership Conference evolved since its inception, and what core goals remain unchanged?

Arnika Jackson: The mission for the Student Professional Development Conference is to arm and prepare our students to show up and be competitive in their internships. So 16 years ago, it actually started off very small. We may have had about 15 interns that were going into education.

We have our K-12 Fellowship Program, where we send students throughout the country at different schools. We were training them to prepare for their case competitions and then also to be prepared for what they would experience in the classroom. As we continued to do that work, more and more of our corporate partners started to build relationships with us in the world of internships.

So we had to make sure that they were also prepared and ready for their internships, giving them soft skills to prepare them for what they were going to experience inside of a corporate office. And so that small 20 has now grown to almost 140 students that we will be welcoming [this year.] And so we’ve gone from more of a classroom setting where we were doing lectures and teaching to more of experiential learning where we’re putting students in different scenarios and helping them react to them, and then also giving them some practical experiences with our podcast, as well as doing public speaking and things of that nature.

Her Agenda: How do you see storytelling skills translating to career success for these students?

Arnika Jackson: I think that this generation is so very good at storytelling. I mean, the Reels and all the things that they [do, like] put their lives out on social media, I want to be them, right? So what we were trying to do is to figure out [a] twofold [approach]. One thing was we understood trying to give students different tips and tricks and things on how to do things doesn’t necessarily resonate when it comes from someone that could be considered an “auntie.” I’m not going to say mother because, you know, I don’t want to be their parent at this age. But they don’t listen to the aunties and the uncles, right? But they’ll listen to one another. 

The podcast is called the Student Hustle. A part of the podcast is for them to be able to share tips and tricks and have conversations with one another on how they landed their internships, what they feel that they’re excited about, and then what things that from someone who’s already been in their shoes as far as like a previous intern having conversations with them, what can they do to stand out and be successful in those internships. And so we’re trying to be able to get them to tell that story in a way that will resonate with their generation, but then also showcase to our partners that this level of storytelling is what is needed in order to get the attention of that sweet spot, that 18 to 25.

We’re hopeful that this podcast will be something that will grow legs where we’ll be able to utilize this medium to be able to get messaging across to the students. And then also helping the students to showcase that even if your major is not in marketing or television broadcasting, that storytelling is still very important, when you’re getting ready to do a presentation in a boardroom, it’s better decoded or understood when you’re standing in front of an audience if you’re able to give them a story, you know, to bring them in, draw them in so that they understand what you’re talking about and be able to give them the information in a way that is palatable. And so that’s a part of the training that we’re hoping to give with the podcast.

Her Agenda: In the “Meet the Executives” panel, what’s one insight or piece of advice that typically surprises students the most?

Arnika Jackson: [I] think that the students always have an “aha” moment when they hear about the trajectories of each executive and understanding that there isn’t a set formula on how you get there. What they do share is that where the synergy is, is around the network that you have and who can actually be an advocate for you in a room when it is time for you to be able to be promoted into one of those positions. And then also understanding that it takes time.

You know, you’re not going to start at a company one year and then within five years you’re CEO, right? So I think that that resonates really well with them. What we’ve tried to do for the past couple years is to have executives that are considered young executives, young being in their 40s, late 30s maybe even, so that they can see that even though it may take 20 years to get to where you want to go, 20 years could be in your 40s, right? But so much can be accomplished by the time you get there. And so I think that with them understanding that and understanding the power of network and not just having friends on your LinkedIn and followers in your IG, but actually being able to build genuine relationships is always something that the students ask more about.

One of the stories that one of the executives shared last year was that she actually started working on different projects within her company. And a person that she did not really have a relationship with saw how she was working on that project and recommended her for another position. And so, you know, just being able to show up in different ways is also something that I think is something that they get from those sessions as well.

Her Agenda: Many young professionals feel unprepared for their first networking event or interview, so what’s one conversation or question you wish every attendee would have before they dive in?

Arnika Jackson: I think what I always end the conference with [regarding the students] is embracing their superpower, because each and every one of them were selected to an internship or were selected to be invited to the conference. And I know that oftentimes it can be intimidating to be in spaces where you feel that people are in a different social [or] economic bracket than what they’re in. When in all honesty, the reason why the people are there is because they’re there to support them and want to see them win and have probably been in their shoes, you know, while they were in school as well.

So I think that maybe saying all of that, the question that I think the students should ask is, how do they maximize their superpower while they’re at the conference? And who do they need to connect with to ensure that not only are they able to build their network, but to actually have someone they can start a relationship with to be an advocate and a mentor for them post the conference

Her Agenda: As someone who’s worked on both the corporate and nonprofit side, what do you wish more companies understood about investing in early talent from HBCUs?

Arnika Jackson: What I hope that I can have an impact in is for our partners to realize that students who are attending HBCUs are actually more equipped to handle themselves in a business setting or in the workforce, because there is a lot of practicum experience that is gained at our institutions. And to be perfectly honest, the education that they receive has a little bit more weight to it because the professors are really pouring into them to be the best and the brightest.

And that a student that attends an HBCU is making a bold choice to be in the same space where they can continue to cultivate their craft and to cultivate themselves as a student. And so once they show up in their office, in their boardroom, in their classrooms, they’re not only armed with the education, but they’re also armed with zeal. They have that missing piece, that magic that these companies are looking for.

I think that corporate partners underestimate the education that you receive at an HBCU. And I really wish that they would take the time to get to know the students and actually go to a campus for themselves to see how great the campuses are and the education that they receive. I know that’s as politically correct as I can get.

Her Agenda: After years of guiding HBCU students, what’s the single most powerful example of transformation you’ve witnessed as a result of this conference?

Arnika Jackson: An example of success, I actually [have] hot off the press. I haven’t talked to Sydney yet, but Sydney Collier is a Rhoden Fellow. And the ESPN Rhoden Fellowship is a program out of the Walt Disney Company. The fellowship is a year long, but they start at SLC, at the Student Leadership Conference. Sydney just won an Emmy for the work that she did. Her and her teammates, the work that they did for the ESPN Human Jukebox documentary that just aired.

Another one is for our students that I can’t remember her name, but for the K-12 Fellowship. The whole purpose of that is to get young African American students into the classrooms as far as the teachers are going into education. And that I want to say maybe 10 years ago, she attended SLC and now she is the CEO of her own charter school.

So we are producing greatness coming out of this conference, being able to give them the tools that they need in order to be successful. And so it’s not just the soft skills, it’s not just the practical. It is the network that they are now able to create amongst one another, amongst our corporate partners, and amongst UNCF to be able to accomplish those goals, [thus] leaving them with something that is tangible to continue to move forward.

So this year the students will have a full project management plan within the business simulation that we want to do with them. And hopefully [they] will be able to take that and apply it to multiple areas within their lives, not just in their internship. So my hope is that we continue to produce successful stories like Sydney Collier and the other young lady that started her own institution.