Reflecting on AfroTech 2019 - DaJuan Bennett (’20)

Anderson students after registering for AfroTech on Day 1. From left to right Alem Bulcha, Luis Preciado, Kaylan Young, Gabrielle Clark, Sara Matthew, Vanessa Carvajal, Rhian Rogan, and DaJuan Bennett

Reflecting on AfroTech 2019

Written by DaJuan Bennett (FTMBA ’20)

Attending AfroTech this year was a great experience. It was my first time going to a conference like this and I was able to gain a lot from it. Not only did I get the chance to connect with my classmates, but I also got the opportunity to meet with companies in the real estate and real estate tech industry such as Zillow, Cadre, and Hilton. From a professional perspective, I was able to meet with recruiters from these companies and understand the opportunities available to me post-MBA. I did not consider any of the companies before attending AfroTech because they do not do MBA recruiting at Anderson, but now I am considering it. It was also great to meet with a startup in the real estate industry, Cadre. Cadre brings together investors from and allows them to conduct transactions through their site. Meeting with their founder allowed me to expand my entrepreneurial goals and pursue my own platform to invest in affordable housing in urban areas.

Another reflection after attending AfroTech was the importance of being around black people in tech. There is a common myth that there aren’t many black people in tech to fulfill the available jobs at large companies and increase diversity, but over the weekend, with 6,000 attendees, that myth was debunked. It was great to catch up with people that I went to undergrad at Howard University with, people that I went through the MBA process with, and even people that I’ve met during various interview processes. It was important for me to see people that look like me thrive in an environment where they were able to be themselves. After the conference, I was able to connect with recruiters from Hilton and Zillow and will be applying to a few positions within their organizations. Also, I was able to connect with some people who were skilled programmers to one day merge the worlds of real estate and technology.