Here Are All The Black People

Teshelle Bumbry
Here Are All The Black People Conference/Job Fair

“Here Are The Black People” was something that I had been wanting to attend since I first learned about it through the BIC program because I thought it would be an awesome way to make great connections with Black industry professionals who I could relate to and build authentic, genuine relationships with. So, when I heard that the 2018 conference was approaching, I was ecstatic! I did a little research and saw all of the amazing agencies that were going to be in attendance and noticed that none other than Mr. Derek “Fonzworth” Bentley would be hosting and thankfully, I arrived just in time to hear him discuss his book, his journey in the music industry and how he continued to flourish.

He started out by talking about the three things that helped him survive in NYC, as a man from the South: Confidence, Style and Manners, all of these things not only helped him survive, but helped him stand out against his competition. He remained true to himself and this was what helped him navigate and brand himself outside of working for Sean “Diddy” Combs. He also advised people to not let the feel that you’ve missed out an opportunity stop you but “you’ve got to seize an opportunity when you see an opportunity”. A few more key takeaways that made me admire Mr. Bentley even more:

You have to sew the seed of faith and integrity. 
Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. 
Align yourself with someone who wants to go the same direction. 
You don’t create the brand of you, you are a brand right now. Bad attitude? That’s your brand. 
… and Mr. Bentley ended it on a super powerful note: Redefine your “no”. To him, hearing a “no” upfront from someone is a relief because it means that he didn’t have to waste his time AND, more importantly, it just means that it wasn’t meant to be. This resonated with me because I find SO much comfort in this in my daily life. I have taught myself to be okay with knowing that things happen exactly how they are supposed to, no matter if I really wanted something to work out, if it doesn’t it just means that another opportunity that IS meant for me, is coming shortly.

After this much needed inspiration, I headed into the networking portion of the day hoping to be able to seize an opportunity when I see it. First, I stopped at the Droga5 booth and was convicted to take a photo to create a “rookie card” that I could send to recruiters to give them a visual reminder. 









I then went on to speak to a few others agencies in search of positions in the Experiential sector, including Mother and Havas where I met Pilar, who told me to reach out to her because she thought I’d flourish as a strategist. I then ran into a few BICsters, Kelvin, Natalie and Jen.





After collecting business cards and being told to “keep in contact” or to “apply for our internship opportunities”, a lady walked up to me to and asked if I was interested in Experiential marketing. YES!! Turns out, her name was Tilona Moore, an Executive Assistant at Jack Morton. Luckily, someone from an agency that I had previously visited informed her that it was a young girl walking around looking for Experiential opportunities. It was me. I was the girl. And she found me. HUGE THANK YOU to whoever passed on that info because this connection eventually led me to be interviewed, twice, with Jack Morton for their summer internship. Although they decided to go with someone else, I redefined this “no” as “this wasn’t meant for me, and that an opportunity that better aligned with my skill set and wants would present itself to me in the near future. After grabbing some food and stopping by the BIC table to see Rebecca, I had to rush off to work. 

All in all, I am super happy to have been able to attend such an amazing event through BIC. I received such motivation through Mr. Bentley and was able to make an incredible connection. Events like this help to push me outside of my comfort zone because I’m forced to develop great networking skills. Taking Mr. Bentley’s advice, as I venture out into the real world, I promise to sew the seed of integrity and seize every opportunity when I see it.








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