Excellence. Persistence. Leadership. Those were the key lessons on display recently at Irvine Spectrum Center, where promising students from across Orange County joined for a day of learning, inspiration and networking.

The Future Leaders Initiative, a pioneering program from UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, provides high school and first-year community college students with a weeklong immersion in the county’s dynamic business community.

“We introduce students to the local business sector, enabling direct connections with executives and entrepreneurs who mostly come from STEM-related fields,” says UCI business professor Kevin Bradford, who serves as the Future Leaders Initiative’s faculty director. “Students interact with successful professionals from numerous companies in Orange County who often share similar backgrounds and are now at the top of their careers.”

The program focuses on business leaders sharing experiences and knowledge to 130 students from more than 60 schools – many from the county’s underserved communities. The session with the Irvine Company focused on master planning, commercial real estate and entrepreneurship. Speakers included Blake Windal, Irvine Spectrum Center general manager, and Silvia Sosa, general manager of Javier’s Cantina & Grill, the popular restaurant founded in 1995 by her father.

“We introduce students to the local business sector, enabling direct connections with executives and entrepreneurs who mostly come from STEM-related fields.”

Kevin Bradford, UCI business professor

“These students were inspiring. It was such a privilege to share a little about what we do as a company,” Windal says. “But it was their passion to learn and ability to ask such informed, meaningful questions that made this such a rewarding experience. These are truly our future leaders.”

The Future Leaders Initiative prepares students for success beyond the classroom and aims to have a generational impact.  

“Students learn that success isn’t linear, and things sometimes don’t go as planned,” Bradford adds. “They understand the importance of setting goals and persevering through adversity.”

“This program really gave me a map of what I can do and what’s a possibility for me,” says Jasir Gerard, a junior at Anaheim’s Loara High School.