The event at Bloomberg organised by ReachOut was truly a
unique and amazing morning for the pupils at some of our partner schools. 200
students took hold of the amazing opportunity to meet Matthew Barzun, the
current US Ambassador to the UK for a very informative and engaging Q and A
session. Everyone attending had the opportunity to ask questions and say what
they most loved and disliked about the superpower.
The most anticipated part of the morning for the pupils was rare chance to have a Q&A with US Ambassador, Matthew Barzun. Mr. Barzun gave a brief outline of what his job entailed but brilliantly left most of the session in the hands of the pupils who all had the opportunity to asks their questions about the global role of the United States. They also had the opportunity to voice their own opinions about what they most liked and disliked about the domestic and foreign policies of the United States, which led to a memorable discussion.
It was clear this was a topic every pupil present was passionate about. Notable and contemporary topics that emerged included whether the United States should intervene in global affairs with consideration of the past and analysis of when such interventions have been positive or negative. Domestically, pupils were most passionate about the 2016 Presidential Election Candidates, Gun Laws and general differences in attitudes between Americans and British people. Mr. Barzun also helped us realise that our two nations have much more in common in present times than we may think and pupils indeed both contributed and took much valuable political knowledge away from the session. Mr. Barzun made his apolitical stance clear and let any political topics or views talked about come solely from the pupils, making it a very interesting, engaging and enjoyable event!
The Ambassador was introduced by Pete Blackwell, CEO of ReachOut, who gave an insightful and inspiring talk into the benefits of volunteering for both the mentors and the mentees. Starting out of an undergraduate volunteer himself whilst studying hard for a degree at Manchester, Pete explained the instrumental part he played starting up the London branch of ReachOut, previously only at Manchester. Pete made vivid the possible benefits effective social intervention could have for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds (99% of our ex-mentees who were on free school meals are now in employment or education compared to an 87% national average) and after showing how charitable work made his own life and that of other mentors more fulfilling, many pupils became interested in possibly volunteering themselves whilst at University!
The morning began with an inspirational introduction by Bloomberg's Philanthropy and Engagement manager, Caroline Rowley, showing how a good idea and hard work can make a company transform
from a very small one to one of the most important and largest corporations in
the world. Pupils were visibly enthralled and inspired by the fact that
Bloomberg had grown from having just 4 employees in the early 1980s to a
worldwide 19,000 in 2016. Pupils also learnt about possible future career
options with Bloomberg for both graduates and school leavers. Pupils also left
with knowledge of the commendable and large scale charitable exploits of
Bloomberg as most of their initial knowledge of the company was mainly centered
on Bloomberg’s journalism sector. They were also impressed by Bloomberg’s
considerable donations to various charitable causes, such as making the world
more environmentally friendly by encouraging the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions.
There was also an equally informative talk from Bloomberg’s Head
of Security. We gained knowledge of the many dangers a large corporation such
as Bloomberg can face from physical threats such as possible terrorist and
political attacks on the building to attacks on valuable information such as
Cyber Attacks and internal espionage. We gained some insight to the impressive
countermeasures the hard working security team have taken to prevent such
catastrophes from taking place. Bloomberg has been very successful in this
respect and pupils were informed of the global disorganisation could result
from a company as large as Bloomberg being affected by such events.
Overall, it was an exciting and and enjoyable day which allowed attendees to learn about various different industries and global issues.
Overall, it was an exciting and and enjoyable day which allowed attendees to learn about various different industries and global issues.
Read more about this event on Bloombergs website:
