Alabama A&M University will welcome home one of its own on October 14 when alumna Taliah Givens, Senior Director of Student Professional Development Programs at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), returns to host a special UNCF Student Internship and Scholarship Informational Breakfast. The event will take place from 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. at the AAMU Welcome Center and is designed to help students explore scholarship and internship programs that can transform their college and career journeys.

Givens, a 2000 graduate who earned her electrical engineering degree from AAMU and a computer engineering degree from Georgia Tech, has built a distinguished career dedicated to expanding educational and professional opportunities for underrepresented students. She completed a master’s in public administration degree from Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY) as a 2006 National Urban Fellow to the Xcel Energy Foundation and later graduated from the National Urban Fellows America’s Leaders of Change Executive Leadership program in 2012.

Originally from Paterson, New Jersey, she began her career as an optical solutions engineer at Nortel Networks and AT&T before transitioning into education and nonprofit leadership. Now in her 11th year with UNCF, Givens leads the organization’s Student Professional Development Programs, overseeing more than 40 internship and workforce development initiatives nationwide. Under her leadership, the department has served over 1,200 students across industries including STEM, education, finance, publishing, manufacturing, entertainment, and healthcare. She has also quintupled the number of internship programs represented at the annual UNCF Student Leadership Conference, the organization’s signature professional development event for college students.

Givens’ own journey has been shaped by the power of scholarship and mentorship. “I was a beneficiary of a full AAMU Presidential Scholarship when I enrolled in 1994 to pursue the dual-degree engineering program,” she said. “Inclusive of my AAMU scholarship, I earned over $100,000 in scholarships that allowed me to graduate nearly debt-free and gain valuable paid internships every summer through the U.S. Department of Energy and Duracell Corporation.”

That early support, she says, inspired her to dedicate her career to creating similar pathways for others. “After receiving the blessing of scholarships, career development, and higher education, I had to pay it forward and keep these doors open for current and future generations,” Givens said. “This is why I am working at UNCF.”

Through her leadership, UNCF’s student programs have grown more than 300 percent – from nine programs in 2014 to more than 35 annually, serving over 1,000 students each year. The October 14 event at AAMU will feature insights from UNCF representatives, past scholarship recipients, and corporate partners such as The Walt Disney Company, which collaborates with UNCF on several programs, including the Disney Enhanced Scholars Program, Andscape Rhoden Fellowship, and FX Storytellers Program.

Givens is partnering with Angel Lee, interim director of Career Development Services, and Dr. Jessica Brown, director of Student Leadership and Engagement, to bring the event to campus. The visit marks UNCF’s third consecutive engagement with AAMU since the pandemic, part of a broader outreach to HBCU campuses nationwide.

“Our goal is to build student, faculty, and administrator awareness of UNCF scholarship, internship, and fellowship programs to ensure that more AAMU students are applying and securing these great opportunities. I am workng to pay it forward and keep these doors open for current and future generations.”