FourBlock

Other

October 22, 2017

Each issue in this section, the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different charity that benefits military veterans and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day. To back that up, our parent company – OpenSystems Media – will make a donation to every charity we showcase on this page.

This issue we are highlighting FourBlock, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to act as the country’s local network for leading veteran professionals.

Mike Abrams, who formerly served in the Marine Corps, founded FourBlock in a bid to equip post-9/11 student veterans to find meaningful careers and maximize their potential through an educational program and a nationwide network of alumni and partners. At the foundation of the FourBlock approach is a semester-long program – held in conjunction with a number of accredited colleges and universities around the U.S. – in which each FourBlock student group may engage with their educational instructors and executive mentors in order to open paths to the best careers possible.

The foundation operates campus programs in 12-plus geographical locations, including at Columbia University (New York), Auburn University (Alabama), University of Washington (Seattle, Washington), and Northwestern University and University of Chicago (Illinois). FourBlock has also worked with companies to introduce veterans to such companies as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Accenture, Amazon, Facebook, GE, and Goldman Sachs.

According to the organization, the typical veteran that signs on with the FourBlock program is typically in their junior year of undergraduate studies or first year of their graduate studies. The typical cohort is roughly 75 percent former enlisted and 25 percent former officers, with the majority of them pursuing a bachelor’s or MBA degree. About 60 percent of those in the programs are interested in finance, international affairs, and consulting careers, with the remainder interested in accounting, cybersecurity, engineering, intelligence, IT, journalism, and marketing.

For more information, please visit www.fourblock.org.