FAMU’s Strike Forward Program Celebrates Student Success and Industry Partnership
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida A&M University’s Office of Freshmen Studies recently hosted its Spring 2025 Strike Forward Career Explorers Celebration, honoring the achievements of students and the ongoing partnerships that have made the career exploration program a campus cornerstone.
Led by Doris Roundtree, Ph.D., the Strike Forward Career Explorers Program pairs freshmen students with University Employer partners across FAMU’s campus and the surrounding Tallahassee community. The program provides real-world experience in students’ prospective careers while enhancing professional growth, leadership, and employability.
“I just love the growth I see in the students,” said Roundtree. “They come in as sophomores, still developing, and I see them grow into young professionals, ready to take on the many challenges that are waiting for them in the world.”
Roundtree emphasized the importance of mentorship and support, especially for minority students navigating an increasingly competitive job market. “FAMU prepares its students to meet the challenges of a global marketplace,” Roundtree said. “We love our students and do everything we can to help them become the best they can be.”
Spring 2025 Strike Forward Career Explorers Celebration honors the achievements of
students in the career readiness program. (Photo by Craig Myles)
The program, which the Bank of America Jobs Initiative has funded, connects students
with diverse roles across university departments. In Fall 2025, the program will transition
to new funding from Truist Bank, offering selected students an increased stipend of
$2,000 for two semesters.
For students like Saadia Prevost, a third-year accounting major from Dallas, Texas, the experience has been transformative. “The Strike Forward Career Explorers Program provided me with leadership and professional development skills while giving me insight into my future career goals,” Prevost said. “It was overall a great experience, and I highly recommend it for any college student.”
Brian Marshall, a Spring 2025 graduate majoring in information technology with a cybersecurity focus, echoed similar sentiments. “I was motivated to use the skills I’ve learned through high school and my first internship in a different setting,” Marshall said. “One of the biggest skills I learned was how to communicate with people of different levels of technical proficiency, as well as report writing and research.”
Program partners also highlighted the mutual benefits of the collaboration. Ola Sheffield, MAJC, Ph.D., college communicator and scientific editor at FAMU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health (CoPPS, IPH), praised the caliber of students and the program’s impact.
“As a product of the FAMU SJGC, it was everything to have a thought and see it manifest because of this mutually beneficial collaboration,” she said.
Sheffield worked closely with intern Jazmon Baytop, a sophomore public relations student from Los Angeles, who returned for a second term. Baytop contributed to communications efforts, including writing an article for the CoPPS Homecoming Magazine, designing flyers for Match Day, and co-hosting the “W.H.A.T. Podcast.”
“She hit the ground running, polished, professional and a PR superstar,” Sheffield said.
The Strike Forward Career Explorers Program provides real-world experience in students’
prospective careers while enhancing professional growth, leadership, and employability.
(Photo by Craig Myles)
As the program looks to the future, Roundtree remains optimistic. “I’m hopeful it
continues to grow,” she said. “There are doctors, IT experts, communicators, all willing
to support our students. With the right backing, this program could expand, offering
even more opportunities.”
With FAMU’s commitment to educational access, career readiness, and excellence, the
Strike Forward Career Explorers Program is a testament to the university’s mission
to develop global leaders, one internship at a time.
Media Contact:
Rachel James-Terry
rachel.jamesterry@famu.edu
