Divaris proudly participated in the 24th Annual CBDA Internship Day with Princess Anne High School by hosting three students for the day. The program allows local high school juniors and seniors to spend the morning at a CBDA business, shadowing and learning a little about the field of his or her mentor. This year 63 students and 33 businesses participated in the program, the biggest group yet!
DRE’s three students were seniors Lauren Carey, Peter Yang and Salma El Sayed-Ali. Lauren, who plans to study business, spent her morning with Allison Welsch, Town Center Sales and Marketing Manager, learning about overseeing retailers and restaurants, planning events and even helped prep for the upcoming Spring Fling. Peter, who plans to major in marketing & psychology and Salma, who is interested in both bio-medical and Middle Eastern studies, shared their mornings between Alex Divaris, Vice President of Investment Sales and Ashley Grove Mars, Creative Director. They saw an overview of a few investment sales transactions, how marketing materials, site plans and renderings are created, and were given some insight on the importance of social networking and getting involved in the community. The morning portion finished with a journey to see the views from the top the Westin before everyone reconvened for lunch in the ballroom.
From left to right, CBDX Past President Ashley Martin, X Scholarship Recipient Ruchelle Buenaventura, CBDX President Joash Schulman, X Scholarship Recipient Bansri Rawal and CBDX Co-Founder and Past President Alex Divaris.
The program started with announcing the winners of the second annual “X-Scholarship,” presented by The CBDX, the 40-and-under young professionals group of the CBDA. The recipients were selected based on students’ academics, community involvement and a passion for Virginia Beach and the Central Business District. DRE’s Alex Divaris was on the scholarship committee and was pleased to help present two $2,500 scholarships this year to Ruchelle Buenaventura and Bansri Rawal.
Allen Fabijan, Creative Director and On Air Personality for Sinclair Radio Stations, spoke to the sold-out luncheon. He advised the employers to embrace this new technology-using, pop-culture-loving generation of graduates, and instructed this generation to invest in themselves, work like they’re showing off and master the tools they have.
The CDBA Internship Day is always a rewarding experience for both the students and businesses. Congratulations to this year’s X-Scholarship winners and best of luck to the Class of 2015! Go to www.cbda.net for more information on CBDA and www.thecbdx.com for more information on the CBDX.
