eBay’s Black says HBCUs must develop practical, hands-on learning experiences and provide networking opportunities
BY BRANDON-MICHAEL LAGARDE
GSU Media Bureau
Tiffany Black’s first experience at an historically black college university (HBCU) was on the Grambling State University campus. Ebay’s head of global influencer content marketing toured the campus, visited the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and attended the Miss Grambling State University.
During a Friday (Sept. 16) breakfast hosted by GSU President Rick Gallot, Black, shared a wealth of journalistic, marketing, social media insights with students. Black talked and allowed student to ask questions about her career and the opportunities, and challenges, for HBCU students at tech companies in the Silicon Valley.
Black told a group of GSU students that too many HBCU students gaining “text book” educations without the hands-on experience and corporate networking that often matters. “HBCU students learn and understand practicums and theories but have trouble applying those theories and problem solving issues” sometimes, she said. “In addition, HBCUs have to reestablish pipelines with tech companies in Atlanta, New York and California. Gaining a pipeline allows opportunities such as meeting with employees from Apple, eBay, Google, and Facebook.”
A longtime “ride or die” east coast soul, Black has lived in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Pennsylvania so California is different for her, culturally and professionally. Growing up in Harlem, Black said she was culturally exposed to Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, Haitians and other diverse ethnicities and races. In California, she said, diversity means something different on a daily basis, including a diversity of thinking, ideas, gender, gays and lesbians. Plus, she added, San Francisco Bay area companies “definitely interview differently.”
“At Google they’re looking for Googly people but won’t define what Googly means,” she said. “At eBay I was challenged with making a power point presentation with eight slides or less. At this point I’m working in marketing, normally for presentations our slides decks would be 50 slides or more. It was very challenging.”
Black encouraged the GSU students to consider geography but to choose jobs and opportunities across the nation and the world. “Go where the best opportunity is for you,” said Black, who travels with eBay across the United States, London and Germany regularly. “Whether it’s in California, London, New York wherever it is, go for the opportunity first and then seek the community” you need and want to be a part of.”
Black knows there is a great deal of diversity growth opportunity, and she is determined to see others come behind her to help improve staff diversity and company impact. In 2014, when Black joined eBay, she was disappointed to learn that she was one of only 50 full-time African American eBay employees –out of 30,000 employees nationwide. To help the few African American employees encourage and support each other, there was an affinity group, the African American Employee Network (AAEN), since renamed Black Employees at eBay (BEE).
The business and mass communication majors attending the special event learned a lot from Black. Harrington Harris, 20, a junior mass communication major from Phoenix, said “the biggest thing she spoke about was coming into companies and knowing how to do stuff, not being textbook savvy, having hands-on experiences …”
During her visit, Black was constantly on social media talking about her GSU experiences, even using the now popular hashtag #WhyNotGrambling. She was showered with Grambling State gifts and she said she felt quite welcome, especially since she graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She was told she’s now GramFam.
Gallot thanked Black as Taylor Stewart, Grambling State Miss Cover Girl, pinned the a GSU lapel pin on her dress. “Our motto here is, “Where everybody is somebody” and you are somebody here,” the president told her. “The fact you would take time out of your global schedule to be here with us is incredibly important.”
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