ASPIRE x GEAR UP Nashville Partnership | Dream BLDRS Career-Readiness Series
Jones Elementary Leadership Retreat
ASPIRE AWARDS hosted by Asurion
Connecting student achievement to access
The ASPIRE AWARDS, hosted by Asurion and supported by BEST, , Asurion’s Black Employee Resource Group, brought 80 students from six Nashville middle schools into Asurion Global Headquarters for a private Dream BLDRS recognition and career-exposure experience. The event marked the culmination of seven weeks of programming focused on student leadership, social-emotional learning, and college and career readiness.
Students were celebrated for their growth while gaining direct exposure to workplace culture, professional leadership, technology, business, and STEAM-connected careers. The experience demonstrated how schools, Employee Resource Groups, community leaders, and corporate partners can work together to connect student development with real-world opportunity.
Students Reached
Middle Schools
Dream BLDR Students Recognized
Corporate ERG Partner
Project Overview
Over seven weeks, Aspire reached more than 700 students across six middle schools through Dream BLDRS. Students explored Vision, Passion, Strengths, Goal Setting, Connection, Navigation, and Discipline while developing practical tools for leadership, communication, decision-making, and future readiness.
The Aspire Awards marked the culmination of that work. Eighty students who excelled in Dream BLDRS were invited to Asurion Global Headquarters for an experience that connected their progress in the program with a professional workplace and future career pathways.
The event brought students, educators, school leaders, Asurion employees, BEST members, and community partners together to recognize achievement and introduce students to opportunities beyond the classroom.
Project
ASPIRE AWARDS hosted by Asurion
Partners
Asurion
BEST, Black Employees Supporting Talent, Employee Resource Group (ERG)
Facilitated by
Patrick Walker-Reese
Daniel Westbrooks
Industry
Education
Youth Development
College and Career Readiness
Corporate Community Engagement
STEAM Career Exposure
Participating Schools
McKissack Middle School
Margaret Allen Middle School
Haynes Middle School
Jere Baxter Middle School
Isaac Litton Middle School
John F. Kennedy Middle School
Aspire Services
Dream BLDRS
Student Leadership Development
Social-Emotional Learning
College and Career Readiness
School Partnership Coordination
Corporate Partnership Development
Recognition Programming
STEAM Career Exposure
Event Identity and Communications
Onsite Experience Design
The Challenge
How do you make student recognition more meaningful?
Student recognition often ends with a certificate, a photograph, and a short ceremony. Aspire saw an opportunity to create an experience that celebrated student progress while helping young people picture themselves in professional, technology, business, and STEAM-connected careers.
The experience also needed to create value for every partner involved. Schools needed a meaningful way to celebrate student development, while corporate and community partners needed a clear role in contributing professional exposure, space, employee participation, and career insight.
The challenge was to turn recognition into access showcasing importance of the achievement itself.
The Approach
Build a Bridge between Education and Corporate America
Aspire designed the ASPIRE AWARDS to connect student development with a real corporate environment. Dream BLDRS prepared students through self-awareness, leadership development, communication, goal setting, decision-making, and college and career readiness, while the awards showed how those skills could apply beyond the classroom.
Asurion and BEST extended the experience by welcoming students into a major corporate headquarters. The partnership connected school-based learning with workplace culture, professional leadership, technology, innovation, and STEAM-connected careers.
The result was more than an event. It was a stronger bridge between where students are today and where their talent can take them next.
Dream BLDRS Prepared Students for What Came Next
Recognition Reinforced Achievement
Partnership Opened a Corporate Environment to Students
Career Exposure Happened in Context
The Aspire Awards Experience
From school-based learning to real-world exposure
The Aspire Awards brought 80 students who excelled in Dream BLDRS to Asurion Global Headquarters in Nashville. Students entered a professional setting connected to leadership, technology, operations, innovation, and career possibility.
The headquarters was not simply a venue. It became part of the learning experience by helping students connect the skills developed through Dream BLDRS with a broader view of how professionals work, collaborate, solve problems, and build careers.
Recognition remained central, but the event extended beyond the ceremony. Students were able to celebrate their progress while gaining firsthand exposure to environments and opportunities they may not have previously encountered.
What Aspire Created
Aspire developed and coordinated a private recognition experience for 80 Dream BLDRS students from six middle schools. The work included school coordination, student selection, recognition planning, partner alignment, event programming, STEAM career exposure, and onsite experience design.
Aspire also created the event identity and communications across social media, digital promotion, print materials, partner communications, and onsite displays. Each element supported a consistent experience for students, educators, employees, and partners before, during, and after the event.
Together, these components formed a model that can be adapted for additional schools, districts, companies, and Employee Resource Groups.
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- Students entered Asurion Global Headquarters for a corporate-hosted experience connecting Dream BLDRS learning with professional environments and future careers.
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- Students experienced a major corporate workplace firsthand while learning more about leadership, technology, collaboration, and professional careers.
Student Leadership and STEAM Career Exposure
The Aspire Awards brought students into a corporate headquarters where they could experience workplace culture and learn more about careers connected to business, technology, and innovation. This exposure added a practical dimension to the leadership and future-readiness concepts students explored through Dream BLDRS.
Future careers can feel distant when students have never entered the environments where the work happens. Corporate-hosted experiences give students a real setting they can connect to the possibilities discussed in school and a clearer understanding of the professional expectations, pathways, and opportunities ahead.
Outcomes
Student Achievement Received Greater Visibility
Students were recognized for the growth, leadership, and commitment they demonstrated throughout Dream BLDRS. The corporate setting allowed peers, educators, school leaders, employees, and partners to celebrate that progress together.
Students Experienced a Corporate Workplace Firsthand
Hosting the event at Asurion Global Headquarters gave students direct exposure to a professional workplace, its culture, and the careers connected to it. Students could see how leadership, communication, technology, and collaboration operate within a major company.
STEAM Career Pathways Became More Visible
The experience introduced students to a wider range of careers connected to technology, innovation, business, and STEAM. Placing that exposure within a working corporate environment helped students understand where those career paths exist and how their current development connects to them.
Schools Gained a Shared Moment of Pride
Participating schools received a meaningful platform to celebrate student progress and show educators, families, and peers what leadership development can produce. Bringing six middle schools together allowed achievement to be recognized across school communities rather than within one campus alone.
Corporate Support Became Student Access
Asurion opened its headquarters to students, while BEST helped support an experience focused on recognition, workplace exposure, and future careers. The partnership gave students access to a professional environment that schools could not create alone.
Aspire Established a Model That Can Grow
The Aspire Awards demonstrated how Dream BLDRS can extend into a larger student recognition and career-exposure experience. The format can support future school cohorts, district-wide programs, corporate-hosted student events, and ERG-led community partnerships.
Stakeholder Value
Clear value for every group involved
The Aspire Awards was designed to create meaningful benefits for students while supporting the goals of schools, districts, corporate partners, Employee Resource Groups, and the wider community.
Students
Students received recognition for their growth and direct exposure to a professional environment connected to leadership, technology, business, and future careers. The experience gave them a clearer view of how the skills they were developing could apply beyond school.
Principals and School Leaders
Schools gained a visible way to celebrate student achievement, reinforce college and career readiness, and create a meaningful moment for students, staff, and families. The event also gave school leaders a tangible example of how student development can connect with professional exposure.
District Leaders
The project demonstrated how Dream BLDRS, social-emotional learning, student recognition, and career exposure can work across multiple schools through one coordinated experience. It offered a model that could be expanded across additional campuses or district-wide initiatives.
Corporate Partners
Asurion contributed more than sponsorship by opening its headquarters, engaging its people, and helping provide students with direct access to a professional workplace. The company’s participation turned corporate community engagement into a student experience with clear educational value.
Employee Resource Groups
BEST demonstrated how an Employee Resource Group can connect employee leadership with community engagement through student recognition, career exposure, and school partnership. The experience created a visible role for employees in supporting student development outside the company.
Community
The Aspire Awards brought students, educators, business leaders, employees, and community partners together around a shared investment in young people. It showed how coordinated partnerships can expand what schools can offer students.
Employee Resource Group Partnerships
Connect Employee Development with Community Impact
Aspire works with Employee Resource Groups to create programming that combines employee learning with student mentorship, school engagement, and career exposure. Through Dream BLDRS+, ERGs can offer research-based professional development focused on leadership, communication, productivity, career growth, conflict resolution, team development, and workplace culture.
Programs can be designed for ERG meetings, retreats, conferences, cultural observances, leadership initiatives, and company-wide learning experiences. Aspire also helps ERGs extend their work beyond the company through student mentorship, volunteer engagement, school partnerships, and corporate-hosted career experiences such as the Aspire Awards.
Participating Schools
Six middle schools connected through one experience
The Aspire Awards included students from McKissack Middle School, Margaret Allen Middle School, Haynes Middle School, Jere Baxter Middle School, Isaac Litton Middle School, and John F. Kennedy Middle School.
Bringing six Nashville middle schools together allowed students and educators to celebrate achievement across school communities and share one larger moment of recognition.
Inside the Experience
A closer look at how the Aspire Awards came to life at Asurion Global Headquarters reveals the students, educators, employees, partners, and environments that shaped the experience.
Achievement Recognized in the Room
Dream BLDRS students were honored for the growth, leadership, and commitment they demonstrated throughout the program. The ceremony gave students a visible moment to celebrate their progress with the people who supported them.
A Corporate Environment Up Close
Students experienced the scale, culture, and professional setting of Asurion Global Headquarters firsthand. The workplace itself helped make conversations about careers, leadership, and future opportunity more concrete.
Six Schools Celebrating Together
Students and educators from six Nashville middle schools came together for a shared moment of recognition and pride. The event created connection across school communities while celebrating individual achievement.
Employees and Partners Engaged
Asurion and BEST helped welcome students, support the program, and connect corporate participation with community engagement. Their involvement showed how employees and corporate partners can contribute directly to student experiences.
Career Pathways Made Visible
Students encountered an environment connected to business, technology, innovation, and STEAM careers. The experience gave them a practical reference point for understanding where those pathways can lead.
A Model Aspire Can Repeat
The event created a format Aspire can adapt for additional schools, districts, companies, and Employee Resource Groups. Its structure brings programming, recognition, career exposure, and partnership into one coordinated experience.
What This Project Demonstrates
The Aspire Awards shows Aspire’s ability to extend student development beyond a workshop or classroom session. Aspire connected Dream BLDRS programming, school coordination, student recognition, corporate partnership, career exposure, communications, and event execution within one coordinated project.
The work demonstrates Aspire’s ability to deliver Dream BLDRS across multiple school communities, extend student programming into a live recognition experience, and connect student development with professional environments. It also shows Aspire’s capacity to coordinate educators, companies, employees, and community partners around shared student and organizational goals.
The model can support STEAM career exposure, corporate-hosted learning experiences, Employee Resource Group engagement, district-wide recognition programs, and future partnerships between schools and Corporate America.
Program Leadership
Led by Patrick Walker-Reese
Patrick Walker-Reese is an educator, keynote speaker, author, and co-founder of Aspire. Through Dream BLDRS, he helps students strengthen self-awareness, define their Vision, recognize their Strengths, set meaningful goals, and prepare for the opportunities ahead.
At the Aspire Awards, Patrick helped connect seven weeks of student development with a larger moment of recognition and corporate exposure. His approach combines practical leadership tools, personal storytelling, and audience participation to make complex ideas relevant, memorable, and immediately useful.
Patrick brings the same energy to schools, districts, universities, companies, Employee Resource Groups, conferences, retreats, and leadership programs. Each experience is shaped around the audience, whether the goal is student leadership, college and career readiness, professional development, team culture, or renewed motivation.
Bring Patrick to your next keynote, student program, professional-development session, conference, retreat, or corporate event.
A model for future school and corporate partnerships
The Aspire Awards format can be adapted for additional schools, districts, companies, and Employee Resource Groups. It can support district-wide recognition programs, Dream BLDRS culmination experiences, corporate-hosted student events, STEAM career exposure, school and company partnerships, and ERG-led community initiatives.
For schools and districts, the model connects student development with recognition and college and career readiness. For companies and ERGs, it provides a structured way to engage employees, support students, and build stronger relationships with schools and communities.
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The Aspire Awards Experience
The Aspire Awards brought 80 students who excelled in Dream BLDRS to Asurion Global Headquarters in Nashville. Students entered a professional setting connected to leadership, technology, operations, innovation, and career possibility.
Marketing & Communications
Behind every successful program is clear, consistent communication. Throughout the ASPIRE Dream BLDRS: Career-Readiness Series, a strategic marketing campaign helped build awareness, drive registration, and keep students and families engaged from kickoff through program completion. From event announcements and speaker spotlights to social media campaigns, digital flyers, and recap content, every touchpoint was designed to create excitement, communicate value, and encourage participation.
Employee Resource Group Partnerships
Connect Employee Development with Community Impact
Aspire works with Employee Resource Groups to create programming that combines employee learning with student mentorship, school engagement, and career exposure. Through Dream BLDRS+, ERGs can offer research-based professional development focused on leadership, communication, productivity, career growth, conflict resolution, team development, and workplace culture.
Programs can be designed for ERG meetings, retreats, conferences, cultural observances, leadership initiatives, and company-wide learning experiences. Aspire also helps ERGs extend their work beyond the company through student mentorship, volunteer engagement, school partnerships, and corporate-hosted career experiences such as the Aspire Awards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact Aspire to discuss your school, district, conference, nonprofit, university, or corporate initiative and learn how Dream BLDRS® can help students build the confidence, skills, and vision needed to succeed in college, careers, and life.
Contact Aspire to discuss your school, district, conference, nonprofit, university, or corporate initiative and learn how Dream BLDRS® can help students build the confidence, skills, and vision needed to succeed in college, careers, and life.
Build the Next Experience With Aspire
Aspire partners with schools, districts, companies, and Employee Resource Groups to create programs that connect student leadership, professional development, recognition, workplace exposure, and future opportunity.
Bring Dream BLDRS to your school or district to support student leadership, social-emotional learning, and college and career readiness. Bring Dream BLDRS+ to your company or ERG for professional development, leadership training, retreats, conferences, and community engagement.