Abrams Earns Spot in Prestigious GE Leadership Program

The Writing Program is pleased to announce that senior Writing and Rhetoric major Alexandra Abrams has been awarded one of just eight spots in GE’s prestigious Communications Leadership Development Program (CLDP).   This challenging two-year rotational program sends participants to different GE locations around the world, offering experience and contacts within GE businesses while providing a salary and covering all moving and housing costs. Ally, who was chosen from among 3,000 applicants internationally, is the only student chosen who is not enrolled in a communications program.  She will begin with an eight-month rotation with GE Capital.  

According to the GE website, “Successful CLDP participants who demonstrate their leadership abilities can rapidly advance their careers at GE. The program provides leadership, communications and business-focused training as well as cross-business experience from which participants gain leadership skills and communications-specific competencies.”  Ally’s strength as a writer played an important role in GE’s choice; in discussing her focus on developing her writing skills and pursuing a Writing major, Ally writes, “Everyone I interviewed with was highly impressed with the conscious realization that writing is one of the most important communication skills we have today, and it often falls by the wayside.”

Associate Professor Steve Parks, who recommended Ally for the position, notes that he has rarely seen a student with greater leadership strengths or greater awareness of how communication can foster dialogue and partnership.  He explains that Ally is ideally suited for this program: “She will bring the professional, intellectual, and organizational skills necessary to work in the diverse global context.  Moreover, she will bring a true understanding of the work necessary to build trust among her co-workers and international partners.  Perhaps more than any other student I have encountered, [Ally] is ready to move outward to the global environment in which communication now occurs.” 

Ally, who is from California's Bay Area, has spent two summers interning in Manhattan in PR. She describes herself as a die-hard reader who is never far from her Kindle. On campus, she has written for the Daily Orange, worked as a tutor for Say Yes, freelanced as a social media consultant, and been involved with Kappa Kappa Gamma. She hopes to turn her position at GE into a long-term career, preferably one that will allow her to live in different countries. Ally is especially excited about the travel that will be part of her position at CLDP: "I have no idea where I'll be living in June, and nothing could be more exciting."

Congratulations, Ally, on this fantastic accomplishment!

—story by Emily Dressing Copyright © 2011 Syracuse University. All rights reserved

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