Economic Alliance goal: Keep college students in Iowa after graduation

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance wants to persuade college graduates to stay in the Corridor after graduation.

'If we can keep that talent here in the area, we can be more competitive,” said Allison Antes, workforce strategist for the Metro Economic Alliance.

So it's launching the Stay Here campaign, which is part of the economic alliance's larger workforce recruitment project that began in February.

The first phase of the project included an online job board to attract applicants to the area. A kickoff event Thursday night will mark the beginning of the second phase and the start to the Stay Here Campaign. The event, which is not open to the public, will aim to gather community support.

'We just want to let students know we have good jobs here and they're welcome to stay,” Antes said. 'It's that welcoming piece we haven't had in the past.”

Antes said the campaign will work to welcome students into the area by pairing them with what the economic alliance calls 'community champions” - an Eastern Iowa resident passionate about the area.

The economic alliance hopes to connect 100 students with these community ambassadors. Antes said the program is not designed as an ongoing mentorship, but rather as small laid-back events, such as getting coffee or lunch, seeing a show, or touring an organization.

Antes said she hopes the partnership between community champions and students will bring more attention to small and midsized companies and show students new aspects of the community.

'Some students never make it off campus,” she said. 'So if community champions can get them off campus it will help them become more familiar with the community and the amenities what we have here.”

The economic alliance does not have a set structure for the program yet, but it plans to partner with college and university career services centers, which would then promote the program to students.

RJ Holmes-Leopold, director of the Career Engagement Center at Cornell College, said the program particularly suites Cornell's student demographic.

'The vast majority of our students at Cornell aren't from the state of Iowa, so they aren't aware of the development opportunities in the region,” he said.

Holmes-Leopold said only about 15 percent of the school's total graduates from the past 15 years now live in the Corridor.

Rod Pritchard, a spokesman for Coe College, said he hopes the program will help enhance community ties with students. About 50 percent of Coe graduates stay within a 50-mile radius of Cedar Rapids, he said.

'Many students come to the Creative Corridor, enjoy the atmosphere here and get lined up with permanent employment through internships or other work experiences and end up staying in the Creative Corridor,” Pritchard said. 'It has become a point of emphasis for the college,”

Any community members interested in taking part in the initiative can contact the economic alliance for more information about the project.