The 2024 Xfinity Unity Tour returned for a fourth year, and invited students to live and celebrate the legacy, history, and sense of pride that is unique and central to HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and HSI (Hispanic Serving Institutions) affiliation.
This year’s Xfinity Unity Tour made 13 selected stops across the country, one of which was Fresno State University.
The event at Fresno State, which took place on October 2nd, 2024, connected students to career resources and tools, Black and Hispanic small business owners and entrepreneurs, and culturally relevant content and media. It also provided a platform to showcase stories about the positive impact HBCUs and HSIs have on higher education.
Through Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities, select students at the Xfinity Unity Tour will have the opportunity to engage with Comcast talent and recruitment leaders to discuss potential career opportunities at Comcast and get professional development advice and tips.
With thousands of HBCU and HSI students returning to campus this fall and needing high-speed Internet for schoolwork and job searches, Comcast is offering exclusive Xfinity Internet deals. However, the primary focus of the tour will include the following:
Connect with Innovators, Entrepreneurs, and Creators
To get students excited about potential career paths and opportunities, additional activities onsite will present the students with stories of innovators, small businesses owners, entrepreneurs, and creators, including:
- Comcast Careers: This year, Comcast’s diverse talent will be showcased on the tour, highlighting 5 HBCU graduate employees and 5 HSI graduate employees at each respective stop. These employee testimonials showcase why they love working for Comcast and the importance of diverse hiring within the company. Students will also have a space to explore open roles at Comcast from internships and co-ops to full time roles in HQ and beyond. Comcast California’s employee, Jeremiah Brown is highlighted on the career section.
- Black Experience on Xfinity and Latino Content: With this tour reaching both HBCU and HSI communities, it is important to showcase the vast library of Xfinity’s BEX and Latino programming (including NOW TV Latino), highlighting the importance of representation in media.
- Artist Highlights: The Xfinity Unity Tour is partnering with three recently graduated artists from the HBCU and HSI communities to create artwork for the tour. HBCU alums Kendall Robinson (Howard University), Clarence Clark (Virginia State), and HSI alum Maria Garcia Vargas (University of Illinois Chicago) created murals relating to one of the tactics of the activation wall space. This initiative expands the continuous collaboration with artists to celebrate their creativity and promote entrepreneurship within the HBCU and HSI communities.
- Official Tour Apparel: Xfinity has once again commissioned HBCU and FAMU alum Elijah Rutland to design the official Unity Tour t-shirt, custom designed to represent the HBCU and HSI communities of the tour. Additionally, Elijah will showcase his creativity by crafting two custom tote bag designs which students can receive for visiting each touchpoint at the activation. This is the third year Elijah is partnering with Xfinity on this tour.
- Peak into the Future: In the center of the activation will be a mirror room with motivational phrases relating to the event as clings on the wall. This serves as a space for students to take photos with their friends and to create user generated content for social media.
“When we bring things like this to California, especially into the Valley at an HSI like Fresno State with many first-generation of college students, is very inspiring. It shows students what is possible,” said Nathan Ahle, Director of Government Affairs at Comcast California. “We’ve partnered with Fresno State for years with organizations like the Maddy Institute, Fresno State Athletics, Fresno State Parent University. We are committed to supporting Fresno State and the entire university community and the Xfinity Unity Tour is another example of that.”
Participating universities in the 2024 Unity Tour are:
- Edward Waters University
- AUCC (Spelman, Morehouse, Clark Atlanta)
- Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University
- Howard University
- Virginia State University
- Morgan State University
- Montclair State University
- University of Illinois – Chicago
- University of Northern Colorado
- University of New Mexico
- Texas Southern University
- University of Houston
- California State University – Fresno
