Leah Sloan Keynote at CareerWise DC Celebration

Good evening, everyone.

It's always an honor to share my apprenticeship journey. My role at Freddie Mac in 2021 in the Enterprise Supply Chain department has brought me all the way through my current roles, where I support students from my alma mater, KIPP DC, in their early professional journeys. When I talk about my apprenticeship with mentees, I emphasize the clarity that it gave me in my career.  Even when I had challenges throughout my early career, I found opportunities to grow as a professional. My apprenticeship continues to inspire and push me to greater heights even four years later.

As a junior at KIPP DC, I didn’t know what would come after high school. I knew I was passionate about business and finance, but I wasn’t sure what type of work inspired me. I just knew I wanted to gain learning through on-the-job experience. I was accepted into the  NAF Academy of Business at KIPP DC, which connected me to CareerWise DC to explore their earn-and-learn model. CareerWise DC prepared me for the apprenticeship and helped me gain my first position at Freddie Mac’s Enterprise Supply Chain department. 

Even in the early days of my apprenticeship, I was knee-deep in data, process flows, supply chain logistics, and hard skills that built my technical foundation. But more importantly, I learned how to navigate a professional space: how to send that follow-up email with confidence, how to ask questions when I didn’t understand, and how to show up as my best self, ready to contribute.

During my apprenticeship, I found a love for communication. I discovered it during a rotation in the HR Communications department, where I had the chance to coordinate employee town halls, write internal newsletters, and create moments that connected people across departments. That shift taught me that your calling is found by saying yes to new opportunities and seeing what sticks.

As I kept learning in my apprenticeship, I was also balancing a full college course load at Bowie State University. That wasn’t easy, but I believed, and still believe, that I shouldn’t have to choose between college and career. I wanted both.

Much of what I was learning in class, I had already completed on the job. My apprenticeship made me a stronger student, and school made me a more thoughtful communicator at work. 

During the final weeks of my apprenticeship, someone at Freddie Mac’s HR team reached out to me about a position in the Chief Human Resources Officer team. I began working at Freddie Mac full-time as a contracted HR Communications Specialist. 

I ended up transferring to the University of Maryland, where I received an Associate’s in Applied Technology, and now am completing my Bachelor’s in Marketing and Business Management. I also work at CollegeTrack, where I create support systems for students navigating the challenges I found in my apprenticeship and creating mentorship opportunities for young professionals.

Looking back, I’ve logged more than 2,700 hours of work, earned over $48,000 before I even turned 20, and built a network of mentors and colleagues I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. But more than any number, what I’ve truly gained is clarity: about who I am, what I care about, and how I want to show up in the world.

The apprenticeship taught me my passion was supporting others. I enjoyed supporting employees, but I learned I wanted to support student apprentices and interns – and now I am doing just that.

So, to the brand-new apprentices just getting started:

Connect with people in every face of your apprenticeship. From the people in meetings to conference attendees, it’s the perfect time to make important connections.

And to graduating apprentices:

Utilize your newly built network. My current role did not exist at KIPP DC before I started. The KCP NAF Director messaged me on LinkedIn and thought I would be perfect for the potential role. You can get additional opportunities past your apprenticeship by showing up as your best self everyday.

To all the partners, funders, and apprenticeship champions in the room: thank you. You are not just investing in talent. You’re investing in professional transformation, and I am living proof.

Apprenticeship changed my life. It gave me more than a paycheck and a resume. It gave me direction, purpose, and power.

And to CareerWise DC and Freddie Mac: thank you for believing in my professional potential and supporting me along the way.

The future workforce is here: in this room, in classrooms, in workplaces across DC. We are resilient, hardworking, and full of opportunity.

We must continue to build multiple pathways to career success. When young people are trusted to lead, we all move forward.

Thank you.