Event Recap: Young Professionals with a Purpose

[Virtual] Young Professionals with a Purpose

— Siah McCabe, Population Health Specialist, Independence Blue Cross and Vice Chair, YPC Advisory Board

Much like the rest of our day to day lives this past year, YPC had to pivot as we all learned how to exist in a primarily virtual world. In leu of the end-of-year YPC Spotlight Awards, on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, YPC virtually hosted “Young Professionals with a Purpose,” a program highlighting regional young leaders acting with purpose to uplift and empower our region. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from a panel of the city’s leading young professionals, particularly on how they have made a career pursuing their passions.

Atif Bostic, Executive Director of Uplift Solutions, shared his thoughts on how we can best leverage the value that we bring to an organization to gain the experience we need to step into roles or create space for ourselves that fulfills the our life’s purpose. He left us with the idea that intrinsically knowing your value is just as important as making your value known by going above and beyond in your work.

Ashley Turner, Academic Technologist and Founder of Philly Tech Sistas, inspired the group to constantly reflect and check in on where it is we want to be and in what areas our gifts will be fully maximized. She shared with us how things began to click professionally when she authentically and unapologetically pursued her passions.

Our third and final panelist, Daniel Whitzer of Independence Blue Cross, shared with us his not-so-traditional journey in becoming a creator of Philadelphia’s B. PHL Innovation Fest. Daniel emphasized that following your passions and being successful means not taking no for an answer at least not the definitive answer we all might think it be. Rejection, or something that does not go according to the plan we had in mind, is only a redirectio — a way to get us to reflect on how we think about the work we want to do, how we might do it differently, and how we might set ourselves apart.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to moderate this event and connect with these three truly inspiring young professionals. They empowered us as a group to think about how we want to make an impact here in Philadelphia and to go after it with authentic energy.