TRG and Dallas ISD Career and Technical Education (CTE) have partnered to formalize an engagement plan serving students in grades 9-12 who have specific interests in the marketing, communications, tech and sales career paths.
With this partnership, TRG hopes to provide real-world experience and exposure to the skills needed in today’s multicultural marketplace. The agency will offer ongoing mentorship programs, skills boot camps and guest-speaker engagements. TRG also will offer visits to the agency, access to internal creative briefings, and potentially invitations to certain client work sites to observe how actual ads are made in real time and the creative process behind the scenes.
“The partnership with TRG offers an abundance of opportunities for our students to gain real-world, relevant, work-based learning experience. Engaging with professionals in the industry will offer a greater perspective to explore careers and afford greater access to knowledge of the industry,” said Rochelle Robinson, CTE industry partner coordinator. “Exposing our students to TRG will also garner greater interest in the field and hopefully encourage our students to pursue careers in marketing and advertising.”
In return, a select number of students will work with a student advisory panel to provide TRG with their diverse perspectives on the creative work, inclusive processes and points of view on the latest industry trends.
“Among black and brown students, awareness of advertising as a career path is still a big issue. As part of our overall IE&D platform, we engage in specific efforts to nurture the next generation of talent, in part introducing high school students to this profession and all it offers,” said Trent Walters, principal at TRG and member of the agency’s Leadership Advisory Council. “Our partnership with Dallas ISD is part of that initiative and so much more. Not only are we sharing the business with them, but they’re sharing a youthful perspective that helps us stay relevant. It’s a partnership in its truest sense — a win-win for everyone.”
The partnership kicked off with TRG supporting students from five Dallas ISD schools (Bryan Adams, Skyline, Sunset, Marvin E. Robinson School of Business and Management at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, and W.T. White) who advanced to DECA’s state competition last month. TRG provided 15 reviewers to each team or individual competitor as the students worked toward perfecting their final competitive presentations. The feedback proved to be constructive for the students and helped build their confidence.
“TRG volunteers were so positive and had a lot of insight to help us improve our presentation. They made us feel so comfortable. They seemed excited after they heard our presentation, which helped us believe in our project even more,” said Rosalynn Cavillo, a student at Skyline High School.
“This process really helped us out. TRG took time out of their busy schedules to help us, asking for nothing in return. This made my students feel more confident in their project,” said Briaana Lark, a first-year teacher and DECA advisor at Skyline High School. “The TRG volunteers were very professional and attentive. I loved the feedback they gave to the students, and we put it to use. These students are off to Internationals.”
Six students are advancing to the International Career Development Conference in late April, where over 10,000 students will meet again to showcase their knowledge in business, marketing, finance and hospitality
About Dallas ISD Career and Technical Education
The Dallas ISD Career and Technical Education (CTE) department serves 50,822 students in grades 6-12 over 83 campuses. Dallas ISD offers 13 career pathways with 243 different CTE courses classified in 51 programs of study, including marketing and sales. The mission of Dallas ISD CTE: “Every Dallas ISD CTE student will graduate with a high school diploma plus post-secondary credit and/or industry-recognized certification.” Visit dallasisd.org/cte to learn more.
