Yesterday afternoon, I brought students from Virginia Tech and Hollins to downtown Roanoke to visit with four local employers, tour the city, and interact with each other. All but two of the students were not from NewVa and represented the states of Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Kentucky and New York. The best and brightest from across the nation come to our region for 4+ years and leave without any real recruiting effort made by the region to get them to stay. This will change.

The response was great. The students loved talking to the companies and each other. They had a great time learning more about the city and said they definitely wanted to do it again in the future.

We are going to continue this program to any group of students, any major, or any higher ed institution who wants to participate. If you know of any students or employers who would like to participate, then contact me.