Texas Tech Celebrates Another Suited for Success Class

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech's best and brightest student-athletes, administrative staff, and local professionals converged on the Mckenzie Merket Alumni Center on Wednesday night to celebrate the conclusion of the fifth-annual Suited for Success Career Series.

Over the course of the spring, 80-plus Tech student-athletes received rigorous career training, including but not limited to resume building, personal branding and image training, dining etiquette, interview training, and networking skills, with the guidance of the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Leadership Academy staff and a number of other campus professionals.

The last session of the six-part program, the "Celebration Dinner", was an opportunity for the Career Series participants (donning their new business attire courtesy of Jos. A Bank and Dillard's) to reflect on all they had learned during the robust career readiness program, and receive well-deserved recognition courtesy of campus cornerstones like Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt and President Lawrence Schovanec.

At the conclusion of the dinner festivities, attendees had the honor to hear from this year's keynote speaker Jason Jenkins, the Senior Vice President of Communication and Community Affairs for the Miami Dolphins. Jenkins, a former Texas Tech football student-athlete who graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism, is in his 10th season with the Dolphins organization where he oversees the organization's media outreach, public relations, digital and social media infrastructure.

"I am blown away by this program, this Leadership Academy, these student-athletes, this athletic department, and this university," Jenkins began as he addressed the room. "Every single one of you is in the position to be the next impactful professional to come out of this department, and every single one of you has the potential to shine."

Jenkins went on to emphasize how each of the participants can be a world-changer, "and it starts right here at Texas Tech, just like it did for me."

As Jenkins closed, he had some valuable parting wisdom.

"If there's one thing that I can emphasize for each of you to remember, it's that nothing matters more than the depth of your relationships, the foundational strength of your core values, and the courage of your decisions," he said "Keep those at the forefront and the world is yours."

Jenkins hit the nail on the head when emphasizing how valuable of a resource the J.T. and Margaret Leadership Academy has been for Tech student-athletes. Since its inception in 2014, the Leadership Academy has been committed to helping student-athletes discover, prepare, and implement valuable skills, while empowering them to achieve excellence in every area of life.

In its fifth year, the Suited for Success Career Series has seen more than 400 student-athletes complete the program and make successful transitions from the field of play to the workplace, and is in itself one of 69 developmental programs that have been provided by the department. These 69 intentional and impactful programs have focused on Leadership Development, Character Development, Career Development, and Wellness and have had 941 and 831 fall and spring participants respectively.

Tech Athletics and the Leadership Academy continue to dedicate their best efforts to molding Fearless Champions on the field, in the classroom, and in the workplace, and the Suited for Success Career Series is just another example of just how successful they've been thus far.

Tonight we celebrated our 2019 Suited For Success student-athletes and their commitment to being prepared to enter the workforce.

Thank you to @jasonljenkins, The Cash Family, & everyone who supports our mission to serve, lead & grow fearless champions for life. pic.twitter.com/T3aNa5GVvg
— Talkington Leadership Academy (@JTMTalkingtonLA) April 18, 2019

Texas Tech University Athletics

Texas Tech Celebrates Another Suited for Success Class

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