BCT Honors Diversity with Week-Long Celebration

Last week at Blue Chip Talent, we engaged in a five-day “Celebrating Diversity” event filled with various activities and learning opportunities. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to take the lead on this week as one of my projects this summer. With the help of Suzanne, Manny, Zach, and Maddy, (the Blue Chip Talent Marketing Team), I believe it was a great success. Each day had an activity that fell into a category of diversity we wanted to recognize and celebrate.

On Monday, the theme was appreciation for diverse groups, and to show it, we created “comfort bags” filled with healthy snacks and necessities for the veterans at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor. Everything went very well and we created about 40 packages as a team. This activity gave Blue Chip Talent the opportunity to give back to those that gave so much for us.

On Tuesday, the theme was learning about diverse groups. It started with Sarah A. giving a nice presentation about diversity in the workplace that she also presented at Oakland University. Next, we participated in an activity known as “Diversity BINGO” provided by the HR team. We had a grid filled with certain traits (i.e. only child, college graduate, etc.) and we had to find a co-worker who fit that trait to mark off the square. The great speech and the fun activity had everyone moving in the morning and ready for the day.

Wednesday was our global buffet lunch and the theme for this day was celebration. This lunch consisted of the marketing team picking up foods from about seven different ethnic restaurants and laying them out for a team meal. We also played diversity trivia in which the winner received a gift card. The lunch went well and included foods from sushi to pierogis to pizza to danishes. I really enjoyed the opportunity to take a moment to relax and learn a little as well.

Thursday was show and guess day in which our theme was identifying diversity. Each member of the team was asked to bring in an item that they identified with or represented who they were. After everyone’s items were displayed, members of the team guessed which items belonged to who. At the end of the day, the items were collected by their owners one at a time, and the winner of the guessing game received a gift card. This activity was very interesting. I got to learn a little bit about each person in the office that I never knew before.

Friday was the big day: The Amazing Race Road Rally. Friday was supposed to combine a little bit of everything from the themes of each day to create a fun team-building experience. The teams were designed to be diverse from members of the Blue Chip Talent. They received clues and hints to go to locations and complete an activity. The event took about two hours, but it concluded at Dick O Dow’s in Birmingham for some post-rally team bonding.

All in all, the BCT “Celebrating Diversity” week was a major success, and I am very happy that I was given the opportunity to organize and lead this great event. This just goes to prove how open Blue Chip Talent’s leadership is to new ideas, and how they value their employees enough to allocate a portion of the work week dedicated to learning, experiencing and celebrating our individual uniqueness. I am grateful for the opportunity to execute this event and for all the valuable education and bonding we experienced over the five days.

Editor's Note: Tristan Klein, a Brother Rice High School graduate, finished his summer internship with Blue Chip Talent and is attending the University of Michigan this Fall. We thank Tristan for all his hard work and we wish him good luck with his education and career!