Atlanta, Ga. (January 3, 2024) – On the edge of downtown Atlanta sits Georgia State University, the largest university in the state with more than 50,000 students. It also is one of the largest and most diverse universities in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report, and one of the most successful at helping students of all backgrounds to earn degrees.

Stephanie Herbst-Lucke, a clinical instructor in the Department of Marketing and Director of Student Success at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State, said as one of the most diverse universities in the nation with many students among the first in their families to attend college, Georgia State has a unique focus on minimizing barriers to student graduation.

Through a partnership Herbst-Lucke developed with Piedmont Chief Marketing Officer Douwe Bergsma, a program has blossomed to help graduating seniors obtain the resources, network and skills they need to position themselves for post-graduation success in both finding a position and thriving in that role. This is just one example of how Piedmont has shared knowledge in our communities and beyond.

The joint program has five different elements:

• An HR Day in which members of Piedmont’s Human Resources Department work with GSU students on how to prepare their resumes and how to best position themselves when applying for jobs anywhere.
• Practice interview sessions. Piedmont employees this fall participated in sessions with between 125 and 150 students, performing mock interviews and providing real-time feedback.
• Helping to judge capstone projects. Piedmont Brand Growth employees provide feedback to the GSU marketing students on semester-long group projects, which are based on real situations faced by Piedmont’s Brand Growth team.
•  A clothing project. From across Piedmont’s 23 hospitals and its System Office, Piedmont employees donate professional clothing for the students who are embarking on professional interviews.
• Guest lectures from Piedmont executives.

Herbst-Lucke says that in many ways Piedmont’s marketing campaign – “Real Change Lives Here” – also is true of Georgia State, which helps thousands of students from diverse backgrounds and low-income households to create a better future for themselves.

“What’s unique about Piedmont is two things,” she said. “The first is the passion: for our mission, their passion for our students and their commitment to truly enact change for our students. The second part of what makes it so successful is that Piedmont does not see boundaries to the partnership. They sit at the strategy table and say, ‘What’s the vision for what this could be?’”

Another example of Piedmont embracing the future and driving change for the better for its communities.