soon or you could use

more professional clothing

for an internship or inter-

views). FatWallet is a

phone app that can create a

shopping list by store or

category to keep track of

your wish list.

Seek out deals relevant

to your inventory list by

browsing through depart-

ment and electronic stores’

preview specials. Click on

this link for Black Friday ad

leaks.

Load electronic cou-

pons on Apple’s Passbook.

Click here for more infor-

mation.

If you are going to

brave the crowds and lines

at the store, you should

arrive much earlier than

(Continue on page 2)

Orange leaves, cooling

temperatures, and pump-

kins galore don’t only mean

Thanksgiving is around the

corner. It also means Black

Friday and Cyber Monday

deals are near! As you may

know, Black Friday is the

day many retailers give

amazing deals on the Friday

after Thanksgiving, the kick

-off to holiday shopping.

Cyber Monday is similar

only instead, companies

offer the deals online on

the Monday after Thanks-

giving. While this is a great

time to shop for holiday

gifts, it can also be a great

time to stock up on profes-

sional attire and electronics

for school and work.

Here are some items to

consider seeking out:

Computer gear such as

monitors, external hard

drives for more storage,

USB drives, keyboards,

speakers, cables, and DVDs

and CDs

WiFi All-In-One print-

ers, scanners, and copiers

Personal computers or

Laptops

Tablets and accesso-

ries

Business casual cloth-

ing and shoes

Here are some tips to help

you seek out just what you

need:

Take inventory of sup-

plies you need or may need

soon (i.e. your computer

looks like it’s going to die

HOW TO NAVIGATE BLACK FRIDAY & CYBER MONDAY

THANK YOUR MENTORS THIS SEASON

This

Thanksgiv-

ing season,

consider

sending a

note of

thanks to your Mentors.

Thank them for the lessons

they taught you and the

time they took to advise

you. This would also be a

great time to update them

on how you’re doing in

school or at work. Click

on this link for a sample

Mentor thank you letter.

Try not to copy it verbatim

but instead, use it as inspi-

ration when drafting your

own note. Lastly, don’t

forget that a neatly, spell-

checked, handwritten note

puts a personal touch on

your note rather than

sending an email. You

should be able to find your

Mentor’s office mailing ad-

dress by contacting his/her

workplace or by looking it

up on the jobsite’s website.

Reaching out to Mentors

now might make asking

them for a favor or an in-

ternship later much easier.

Inside this issue:

Meet Jack Corcoran 2

Upcoming Community

Service Events

2

Alumni Spotlight 3

Baltimore Meet & Greet

Rescheduled

3

UA in Pictures 4

DC Meet & Greet Recap 4

Special Points of Interest:

Don’t forget to thank your mentors!

Call to action: Community Service Events

Meet the new Baltimore Alumni Services Coordinator

Alumni Spotlight: Dauryl Belle ‘09

THE ALUMNI

CONNECTION

NOVEMBER 2012

VOLUME 7, I SSUE 1

The Urban Al l iance

This year’s Black Friday will be held on Friday, November 23rrd.

Introducing, Baltimore Alumni Services Coordinator

Jack Corcoran! Jack joined the UA Family this October

and is already planning the upcoming Baltimore Alumni’s

Meet and Greet, community service event, and more. A Maryland native and graduate from Towson University

with a B.A. in Geography, Jack is thrilled to be serving Bal-

timore Alumni while pursing his Master of Public Admini-

stration degree from Troy University. Jack brings an array

of experience, including leading AmeriCorps members in

completing a variety of service projects. These experi-

ences have allowed Jack to connect with young adults and guide them towards

personal and professional growth. Jack is looking forward to getting to know

UA Alumni and serving as a resource for them as they continue their paths. Baltimore Alumni can contact Jack by phone at 410-366-5780 and via email at

JCorcoran@theurbanalliance.org. DC Alumni can reach DC Alumni Ser-

vices Coordinator Shanita Conley by phone 202-459-4300 and via email at

SConley@theurbanalliance.org.

issues of hunger and nutri-

tion. RSVP here.

Monday, Nov. 26th from

6pm - 8pm: Prepare and

pack meals in the Food and

Friends kitchen. Food &

Friends is the only organiza-

tion in the Washington, DC,

area providing specialized,

nutritious meals, groceries,

nutrition counseling and

friendship to people living

with HIV/AIDS, cancer and

other life-challenging ill-

nesses RSVP here.

DC Area Community

Service Events

Tuesday, Nov. 20th from

1pm - 4pm: Sort and pack

food at the Capital Area

Food Bank (CAFB) ware-

house. Capital Area Food

Bank's mission is to feed

those who suffer from hun-

ger in the Washington

metro area by acquiring

food and distributing it

through its network of part-

ner agencies; and educating,

empowering and enlighten-

ing the community about the

Baltimore Community

Service Event

Tuesday, Dec. 11th from

5:30pm-7:30 pm:

Baltimore Alumni are invited

to join Alumni Services to

participate in the Salvation

Army Christmas Gift Sort.

Each year the Salvation

Army receives hundreds of

donated toys to give to chil-

dren for the Christmas holi-

day. Alumni interested in

attending can get more in-

formation and RSVP here.

WELCOME JACK CORCORAN!

UPCOMING COMMUNITY SERVICE EVENTS

BLACK FRIDAY & CYBER MONDAY CONTINUED

Volunteer this holiday season with fellow Alumni

Page 2

THE ALUMNI CONNECTIO N

ReturnGuru app, take pic-

tures of your receipts, and

get alerts about when return

dates expire.

when the doors open on

Black Friday. **Note that

many stores opened in the

late evening on Thanksgiving

Day in 2011 and may do the

same again this year.**

Remember to take a

backpack with books to

read, music to listen to,

great company to enjoy the

experience, snacks, warm

clothing, and a blanket to sit

on.

Compare retail deals to

get the best bang for your

buck.

www.NerdWallet.com

gives information on stores

and online sites and

www.Decide.com helps to

analyze different prices and

provides each product with

a number rating to show

you how great the deal is.

Sign up for

www.Zaarly.com to ask

other users for items that

might be sold-out or are

gently used products.

Subscribe to

www.blackfriday.info receive

e-mail alerts.

Organize your receipts

on your smartphone in case

you need to return any

items. Simply download the

2012 Alums Wendy Portillo and Edwin Musi-

bira spoke to DC Interns at the Deloitte

Young Professional event on October 19,

2012. Both Wendy and Edwin reflected on

their internship experience and shared

words of wisdom to the Class of 2013 as

they prepared to begin their internship jour-

ney. The Alumni Services Department would

like to thank Wendy and Edwin for partici-

pating in such a great event.

THANK YOU TO DC ALUMNI

North Carolina Agricultural

and Technical State Univer-

sity Senior Dauryl Belle

’09 is an Information Tech-

nology (IT) major. From the

beginning of his professional

career, Dauryl has focused

on interning at sites that

would allow him to get

hands on experience in IT.

One of his many internships

was with Cisco Systems

where he was an IT Engineer

and also worked in a non-

productional technical ser-

vices lab environment. His

internship experience al-

lowed him to focus on IT

skills while improving his

communication and net-

working abilities.

Dauryl is involved in a pro-

gram called Management

Leadership for Tomorrow

that has allowed him to

travel to various company

headquarters. Recently, he

attended a seminar in Min-

neapolis, Minnesota where

he had the opportunity to

have lunch with the human

resources manager of the

General Mills Information

Systems (IS). They dis-

cussed both IT and IS career

opportunities at the com-

pany. Recognizing that this

individual was a great re-

source, Dauryl made sure to

remain in contact with him.

This connection eventually

led to a job offer for Dauryl.

He will be an Infrastructure

Analyst for the General

Mills, and participate in a 5-

year rotational program

within the Information Sys-

tems Department where he

will be able to experience a

taste of various roles.

Among many duties, Dauryl

“will be assisting with the

implementation and evalua-

tion of new technologies

that support the web infra-

structure, deploy YouTube-

like video storage solution

for use across the organiza-

tion for collaboration, train-

ing, and communication.”

Regarding the move, Dauryl

admits, “Coming from the

Washington, DC area and

then moving to North Caro-

lina for school was not that

big of a change. Now moving

from North Carolina to the

Midwest may take a bit

more getting used to. Also

moving away from my family

may be a bit hard, but I will

never forget DC as my

home and I will visit often.”

Still, Dauryl has put so much

effort and made sacrifices to

achieve a position like this

one and thus realizes he

cannot turn down this great

opportunity to start and

eventually grow in the com-

pany.

How is it that Dauryl was

able to attain a job offer

before graduation you might

ask? He shares, “I acquired

this job offer months before

graduation by staying proac-

tive within my job search

and interviewing early. The

goal I had set for myself was

to have and accept an offer

by late November or early

December. When interview-

ing, I made sure to submit

applications early and stay

above the minimum require-

ments for companies.”

Dauryl shared three pieces

of advice to his fellow

Alumni. 1. “Never feel that

you cannot attain your

goals.” He admitted that

this virtue and his faith was

tested, but he persevered

regardless. 2. “Never give

up on yourself.” He confided

that he wanted to give up

from being overwhelmed

with school all the while job

searching, networking, and

interviewing. 3. “Be proac-

tive in your job search.

Don’t settle for, ‘We will

contact you.’” He advises

that Alumni send a courtesy

email to the representative

showing your appreciation

for the time they spent to

talk to you and voice your

interest in the company be-

cause that email can go a

long way.

Congratulations to you

Dauryl! We are not one bit

surprised that you have par-

ticipated in the Dean’s Cir-

cle, currently serve as the

President and Founder of

P.R.I.D.E. Leadership Or-

ganization, a youth serving

organization, balance your

participation in a wealth of

affiliations while making time

to volunteer for UA, and

complete your studies. We

trust you will to impress

your colleagues at General

Mills. Many blessings!

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: DAURYL BELLE ‘09

“Be proactive in your job search. Don’t settle for the ‘We will contact you.’”

Page 3

VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1

The Baltimore Alumni Meet and Greet has been rescheduled to Wednesday, November 7th due to Hurricane Sandy. Recon-

nect with fellow Alumni and UA Staff at Inner Harbor’s Uno Chicago Grill on 201 E. Pratt St. from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

RSVP here ASAP. Don’t forget there’s a raffle to win an iPod Shuffle!

Dauryl’s new position will be at General Mills Headquarters located in Minneapolis, MN

DC MEET & GREET RECAP

Urban Alliance Foundation, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) organization and our mission is to empower

under-resourced youth to aspire, work, and succeed through paid internships, formal training,

and mentoring. Founded in 1996 by a small group of business leaders to create employment

and educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth, we serve youth throughout

the District of Columbia and since fall 2008, Baltimore City. Through three distinct programs,

the High School Internship Program, Alumni Services, and Curriculum Outreach, we provide

resources to our youth to successfully transition from high school to college or career training,

and ultimately to the working world. To learn more about Urban Alliance, visit

www.theurbanalliance.org.

THE URBAN ALLIANCE

FOUNDATION

Employing Youth. Inspiring Excellence.

**Address Change**

Urban Alliance Headquarters

2030 Q. St. NW

Washington, DC 20009

Phone: 202-459-4300

Fax: 202-459-4301

E-mail: alumni@theurbanalliance.org

UA IN PICTURES

UA Staff celebrated DCPS’ College Awareness Day on Oct. 10th. Do you see your school represented?

On October 16, 2012 DC Alumni gath-

ered at Vapiano to catch up with UA

staff and fellow Alumni. The conversa-

tions ranged from previous internship

experiences to the presidential debate

that would air later that night. At the

end of the event Jazmyn Singleton,

Director of Alumni Services, shared UA

updates and Shanita Conley, DC

Alumni Services Coordinator presented

LaShawn McConnell ‘10 with the

iPod Shuffle raffle prize. A big thanks to

all Alumni who attended!

Congratulations to the Annual Alumni Survey winners! Anthony Biddiex (DC ‘09) won the Kindle, Tylee Price (Baltimore ‘11) won the iPod shuffle, and Shanell Williams (DC ‘10) won the gift card. Thank you to everyone for completing the survey!