NASHVILLE -- Partnering with six chapters of 100 Black Men of America, Nissan North America, Inc., hosted its sixth annual Nissan Resume Challenge on Feb. 14, 2019 at Nissan Stadium.
With the tagline of "what they see is what they'll be," 100 Black Men of America is a men's civic organization founded in 1963 to educate and empower African American children and teens. Since then, it has formed more than 100 chapters around the country. Nissan is partnering with chapters in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Jackson (MS), Nashville, and Washington D.C. to identify students to participate in this year's Resume Challenge and Summit.
The students taking part in the summit first participated in a resume and interview challenge with representatives from their local chapter of 100 Black Men of America. Those students with strong resume and interview skills were invited to attend the 2019 Nissan Resume Challenge and Summit at the automaker's expense.
"Today we are a part of the 2019 Nissan Resume Challenge. The 100 Black Men of America and Chicago took us to Nashville to see some new opportunities," said Brett Harris, 17, who attends Kenwood Academy in Chicago. "We are getting to take a personal tour and have the opportunity to talk to Logan Ryan. It's a great experience for the 100 Black Men to expose African American youth to new things."
Harris plans to major in business and finance when he starts college in the fall.
Titans CB Logan Ryan was guest speaker led with a one-on-one discussion by Titans Radio Executive Producer & Gameday Host, Rhett Bryan.
Ryan said part of why he wanted to reach out to these students was to show them someone who looks like them in a successful position.
"One thing I told them is that no matter what team or name or company you work for on the front, you have a name on the back," said Ryan. "I wanted to bring integrity to the Ryan name like my father did and I wanted to carry that. I wanted to explain that to them that their name will be carried when they have a family one day. I also told them to give max-effort. If you give your all in what you want, you may not always get it. You may not get what you want all the time and in life we don't always get what we want all the time. It's not the end of the world. You can handle things a lot better if you give things your full effort."
Over their two days in Nashville, the young men participated in leadership and development workshops and toured Nissan's North American headquarters, as well as the Nissan Smyrna Manufacturing & Assembly Plant.
"Nissan is big on investing in their future and we look at the 100 Black Men as the future for people that could be employed at Nissan," said Jeffrey Webster, Nissan's director of Diversity & Inclusion. "They get to go through different developmental programs and they get to hear from others like Logan Ryan who have gone through their careers and get some tips on things that will enhance them for the rest of their life. This is a great opportunity for us to partner with the 100 Black Men, the Titans and have a good compilation once we finish."
"When you are an African American male sometimes you will be targeted but never let that stop you. When you are educated, intelligent and persistent you will always accomplish your goal no matter what you look like." said Harris.
The afternoon at Nissan Stadium included lunch, fun activities, giveaways, photos with Ryan and stadium tours. T-Rac and Titans' cheerleaders, Travona and Mari, signed autographs and posed for pictures.
Nissan supports its global vision of enriching people's lives by offering customers unparalleled products and services and by improving the quality of life in the communities where it operates.
Partnering with six chapters of 100 Black Men of America, Nissan North America, Inc., hosted its sixth annual Nissan Resume Challenge at Nissan Stadium. (Photos: Lynne McCracken)
About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized annually by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year since 2010. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and INFINITI vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infinitiusa.com, or visit the U.S. media sites NissanNews.com and infinitinews.com.
About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2017, the company sold 5.77 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.9 trillion yen. On April 1, 2017, the company embarked on Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, a six-year plan targeting a 30% increase in annualized revenues to 16.5 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2022, along with cumulative free cash flow of 2.5 trillion yen. As part of Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, the company plans to extend its leadership in electric vehicles, symbolized by the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors in 2016. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance sold 10.76 million vehicles combined in calendar year 2018.
