Urban Synergy Mentoring

At Urban Synergy, we believe in a world where no-one's background should ever hold them back. Our mission is to support 9-24 year olds to write their own futures and to reach their fullest potential. We've had a few new followers, so here's some information in a video that explains more about our UK Youth Empowerment Charity: https://lnkd.in/eSTFpecq #youngpeople #reclaimingnarratives #youthempowerment #socialmobility #inclusion #ukyouth #youth #changingnarratives #charity #socialmobility

Akua Opong, Senior EUC Engineer at London Stock Exchange Group shares a standout moment for her in Black History. “Trailblazers such as Gladys West exemplify resilience, innovation, inspiration, and leadership.” Do you have any standout moments to share for Black History Month? Take a look at some of our other Role Model's standout moments on this page. #reclaimingnarratives #blackhistorymonth #lseg #blackbritish #youthmentoring #stem #fintech LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Akua Opong CITP MBCS FRSA

Having mentees remain part of our network is testament to the success and passion of the Urban Synergy Team. The lifecycle that sees mentees returning as Role Models and Mentors, shines a light on what can be achieved and gives our young people the opportunity to hear first hand about their predecessors journeys. Hannah-Destiny said “I got the chance to hear the first-hand experiences from past alumni who talked about what the program had offered them and what they took from it. They also discussed the progress that they had made and where they are now. It was inspiring to see, not only other people who had completed the program, but also what opportunities that had led to finishing it.” As we continue to empower youth and provide opportunities for skill development, we are grateful for the support of our alumni who come back to mentor and inspire new mentees. We also love sharing in their successes and cheering them on to more! #reclaimingnarratives #blackhistorymonth #bhmuk #youthmentoring #youngpeoplematter

Samantha Tross, is the first Black female Orthopaedic Surgeon in the U.K. She is a Consultant Orthopaedic Hip and Knee Surgeon and one of our Role Models at Urban Synergy. We asked Samantha to share a standout moment for Black History Month and she said: “My standout moment was Barack Obama as President. I felt pride, hope and joy." ✍️ Do you have a memorable or standout moment relevant to Black History ? Miss (Dr) Samantha Tross #reclaimingnarratives #blackbritish #blackhistorymonth #diversityandinclusion #youthempowerment #mentoringmatters #blackexcellence #blackcareerwomen #blacksurgeon #blackhistory #bhmuk

⭐️Corporate Careers Insight Day ⭐️ One of the key aims of LSEG’s Foundation is Economic Empowerment and we as an organisation are keen to give young people opportunities. When I first thought about Women in Tech week, I was keen to have a day focused on a different pillar linked to the network. We wanted to show Career Progression, Community, Healthcare and Education plus add in an element on Networking. So we did something on each day of the week including today, where we have a virtual session 📚🏥 “Through education, we plant the seeds of curiosity that grow into the trees of knowledge.” It was great to have students from St Charles and Imperial College through one of LSEG’s charity partners Urban Synergy Mentoring thank you Dianne Johnson , Semere Estifanos and Leila Thomas FRSA for the continual partnership 🤝 It was great to start the day getting to know the students over breakfast, then hear a keynote from Cynthia Enaw FCCA, MBA to get the students ready for the day. Cynthia spoke about the History of LSEG and the BHM Theme “ Reclaiming Narratives”’ 💫 The students then got to speak to our wonderful panellists Sabrina Evelyn Leroy Abikhui and Andrew Djaba about their own careers. They discussed living and working in different countries, their roles and divisions at LSEG with guest speaker Widade Deguerre 📈 We finished off with a fun speed networking session with a number of colleagues from different levels in the business. Thank you to Georgie Dami Sarah Kenneth Shannon Shriya Serena T. Talenta B Maurizio Inês Alexander Zhiying Luke Manning 👏🏾 Massive thank you to the BEING and WINTech Networks for demonstrating collaboration and dedication to one of LSEG’s Values Partnership ✨ “A child’s education is like a canvas, where every lesson adds a stroke of brilliance.” It was great to see how much the students enjoyed their time at LSEG, more of the students want to go into STEM careers. Originally it was only one but by the end it became 40% of the cohort. Some want to come back for work experience. A great week by all.🚀 Thank you to everyone involved in making this day happen. #EconomicEmpowerment #Volunteering #SchoolVisits #GivingBack #Community #StrengthInNumbers #RoleModels #BHM

Leila Thomas, our CEO and Founder, has been inspiring and helping to change narratives since she launched Urban Synergy - highlighting relatable role models to the young people we serve. She recently shared: “I have always been fortunate to have a strong network of women around me encouraging me to pursue a meaningful career in Technology, but over the years, I realised many people in my community are not so fortunate. There is an overrepresentation of negative stereotypes in the press and limited access to positive role models illuminating career pathways for young people, so I set up Urban Synergy to bridge the gap and raise the aspirations for those young people”. The Urban Synergy network has been instrumental in teaching youth from across the UK how to grow and nurture their networks to expose them to more opportunities in the workplace. Leila has often said “Your network is your net worth.” This has inspired many young people to join LinkedIn and attend networking events, getting outside of their comfort zones and making new connections. If you would like to get involved with the charity and join our network of Corporate Partners working together to build an equitable future, contact us today! #youthdevelopment #reclaimingnarratives #changingnarratives #socialequity #bhm #youth #inclusion #dei #corporatepartnerships #corporatesocialresponsibility #youthprograms

Have you ever read a book or autobiography that has had an impact on your life? Anthony shares a memory of one of his favourite books as a standout moment for Black History Month. Join us throughout October as we share some of our Urban Synergy Role Models' memorable moments. Anthony Graham #blackhistory #blackinfluencers #bhmuk #reclaimingnarratives

An update from our CEO and Founder, Leila Thomas: "Excited to deliver our first Corporate Insight Day with our new corporate partner Visa last week. Over 30 students from Prendergast School in Lewisham, attended and learned important information about the future job market and future opportunities. They were provided with information on early career pathways, apprenticeships, internships and graduate programmes as well as CV and interview tips from the Talent team.  Students also speed mentored with employees to learn about their career pathways. Feedback from Christian, a Year 13 student, aged 18: “The overall experience was honestly 10/10. The employees were so useful and I feel will heavily contribute to my future decisions. My knowledge about future paths such as apprenticeships has widened which has helped me, as I am looking into an apprenticeship as my future aspiration. Thank you for the service and perchance I will see this company again - in terms of my future apprenticeship application.” Thank you Visa for your hospitality, a wonderful lunch and an inspirational, insightful day." Jasmine A. Smith , Anthonia E. , Hasreen Chadha, Chartered FCIPD, CMgr FCMI , Emma Miller Dianne Johnson #Inclusion #reclaimingnarratives #Diversity #SocialMobility #Visa #inclusiveemployers #youthemployment #youthmentoring #workexperience Prendergast Ladywell School

Thank you Amber, we appreciate you volunteering with Urban Synergy youth empowerment charity. We value all of our supporters, donors and volunteers. If you're interested in getting involved, fundraising or mentoring, visit the Urban Synergy website now. Thank you :Goldman Sachs

During Black History Month we will be sharing standout moments from some of our Urban Synergy Role models. A standout moment for Stephen Akinsanya is: "Knowing that the first African barrister was Christian Frederick Cole (1852 – 1885) a Sierra Leone Creole lawyer and the first African barrister to practise in the English courts. He was also the first black graduate of the University of Oxford." Thank you Stephen for sharing! #reclaimingnarratives #bhm #blackbritish #legalcareers #blackhistorymonthuk #uklaw #blackexcellence #barrister