National ‘Young Smart and Local’ conference coming to Tulsa to build local talent pipeline

A local group focused on connecting college students with internships is bringing a national conference to Tulsa to help strengthen talent pipelines and encourage graduates to build their careers in Green Country.

Campus Tulsa hosting national conference to attract and keep young talent

Q: For those unfamiliar, what is Campus Tulsa?

BROOKE RANDELS, Campus Tulsa & Tulsa Service Year Director: "Campus Tulsa is really focused on building strong talent pipelines in Green Country, and so we focus on connecting students to opportunities and helping support them throughout their time in Tulsa, whether they're already in Tulsa and attending a university or an institution here in town, or they're coming from somewhere new."

Q: And your goal is to give them great internships and then hopefully stay here long term?

"Yeah."

Q: What is this national conference Tulsa is getting to host?

"Young Smart and Local is the name of the conference, and it's a national conference that's really catered towards city leaders, higher education professionals, economic development organizations, and talent acquisition professionals who have an interest in building strong talent pipelines in their cities and ultimately vibrant local economies."

Q: Why are internships so important for college students?

"I think from an employer's perspective, it's really a try before you buy model, right, you can invest in a young person's development and see the talents and the change that they can bring to your organization through an internship."

"And then for a student, I mean, there's a lot of data that suggests that students that have internships get paid more, they get to also try before they buy, you know, if you're studying accounting, and you take an accounting internship, and then at the end of the day, you're like, Oh, my goodness, I don't think I can look at spreadsheets like this. Maybe accounting is not for you. And so it can offer that same opportunity for them. Plus, the professional development is unmatched."

Q: How can business leaders or community members get involved?

"I think for business leaders, this is a great opportunity to think about what your workforce looks like. So if you're interested, you can go to youngsmartinlocal.com and you can register for the conference. There also will be a release schedule here soon with some very exciting speakers. And so definitely check out the website, or you can go to campussocial.com and reach out to me directly."