A program designed at the University of Miami Business School to provide students with professional skills and confidence needed to thrive in the corporate world marks its fifth year.
Known as FORGE, the program has served 142 scholars since its inception and has expanded into an interdisciplinary role.
Through an intensive five-week extracurricular program, participants learn how to develop a professional brand, map out career goals, negotiate effectively, build professional networks and connect with mentors.
“FORGE stands for creating the next generation of leadership in corporate America,” said Susana “Susy” Alvarez-Diaz, assistant professor of professional practice at the Business School and director of the program. “The program seeks to expand expectations. We want participants that will create jobs, be leaders in organizations and impact communities.”
Despite being a Business School program, FORGE has also welcomed students from the College of Engineering and the School of Nursing and Health Studies, reflecting the University’s growing emphasis on interdisciplinary education and collaboration. It is open to any student at the University with an interest in business, she said.
Members of the program have gone on to earn leadership positions across campus, including in Student Government and Iron Arrow, one of the University’s highest honors. Many have also secured internships and full-time positions with some of the world’s leading organizations, including Goldman Sachs, EY and FIFA, Alvarez-Diaz said.
Each year begins with a five-week instructional series focused on professional and leadership development. Faculty members from the Business School and industry professionals lead customized sessions on career mapping, negotiation, networking, sales, professional branding, team building and other workplace essentials.
Alvarez-Diaz said that students also develop lasting relationships with mentors and peers while strengthening the communication and leadership skills that employers increasingly value.
For Eileen Rodriguez, a 2024 graduate of the Business School, the program was instrumental in showing her that she was not alone in navigating today’s uncertain job market.
“There are several lessons from the curriculum provided by FORGE that I continue to use,” she said. “I recall there was a section on networking, which can be intimidating. They emphasized that even if you were nervous, didn’t know what to say or didn’t have an elevator pitch, there were still ways to approach those situations with greater confidence.”
She put those lessons into practice by seeking out people who appeared open to conversation, finding common ground to establish a connection and keeping a folder with her résumé in her left hand, allowing her to comfortably shake hands and engage with others.
Now, Rodriguez is an asset and wealth management analyst at Goldman Sachs in Chicago.
Alvarez-Diaz said that given the exceptional drive and accomplishments of previous FORGE cohorts, she expanded the curriculum beyond traditional career preparation.
Rather than focusing solely on helping students land their first professional position, FORGE now challenges participants to envision themselves as future executives, entrepreneurs and industry innovators.
The enhanced curriculum explores topics rarely addressed in undergraduate career preparation programs. Students discuss corporate politics, executive decision-making, long-term leadership strategies and entrepreneurship alongside more traditional professional development skills, said Alvarez-Diaz. They are encouraged to develop ambitious career road maps that extend years beyond graduation and to think strategically about the impact they hope to make in their professions and communities.
The result is a program that emphasizes leadership as much as employability.
For Bianca Osinski, a 2023 M.B.A. graduate of the Business School, the program taught her never to underestimate where or when a job opportunity might arise. She spread the word among colleagues and friends that she was searching for a job, and one of them recommended her for a position.
She is a mergers and acquisitions associate at iBDC, a boutique business consulting firm.
“It was a testament to something taught in the curriculum” she said. “You never know when the next opportunity may come.”
The application period opens Oct. 1. Students interested in applying should email Susana Alvarez-Diaz.