“The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the first assignments is to read and discuss a speech by William Deresiewicz, given at West Point, titled Solitude & Leadership. A main point of the article is to understand that in order to be an effective leader, one needs time in solitude to think through important issues.

Solitude and self-reflection is a main feature of our program. Each week, veterans are provided readings, exercises, and journal assignments, in order to think through upcoming important decisions. We’ve found that veterans must take the time to reflect on what’s most important to them, and to align their personal and professional priorities, before they will be effective communicating their value, writing resumes, interviewing well, and—most importantly—choosing a career that’s right for them.

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We have real impact and real results.

Over 80% of our veterans have secured employment or been accepted into graduate programs. We firmly believe this is because the FourBlock curriculum is built upon the most current research in the veteran transition and retention space and, through our partnership with Columbia University, is based on two learning theories: Experiential and Community of Inquiry. Furthermore, we provide our veteran participants with the most contemporary hiring and career practices, thanks to continued refinement by our partners and alumni.

The course content focuses first and foremost with helping veterans think critically about choosing a new mission, aligning their personal and professional priorities, and determining how they will continue to serve their communities—whether at home or at work. Our veteran participants then learn and practice the competencies needed to make a successful career transition and to be ready on day one of their new careers.

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Our program provides veterans the opportunity to discover new organizations and gain deeper understanding of new industries, in addition to building foundational career tools.

Throughout the semester, veterans are continuously engaged in guided discussions both online and during in-person classes. Modeling our curriculum after the Community of Inquiry learning theory, we leverage the expertise and ideas of all of our community partners—instructors and students—and engage them in targeted conversations in order to draw upon and learn from all unique experiences. Participants discuss topics ranging from current events to industry-specific leadership development.

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While deployed overseas, service members always watch each others backs. After transitioning into the civilian world, it’s no different.

A major learning component of the FourBlock program is re-connecting veterans to a community, fostering camaraderie amongst the veteran participants, and creating the platform for each of them to support and learn from one another—not just during the program, but throughout their careers.

Throughout each semester, veteran participants regularly discuss, explore, practice, and provide feedback with one another, during both online and in-person classes.

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Offered in a blended in-person and online format, our Career Readiness Program is the most comprehensive career development program available for Post-9/11 veterans.

One unique aspect of our program is that all in-person classes are held at employer locations, giving veteran participants a realistic experience in the company’s environment and culture. It is at these classes where senior executives, hiring managers, and military veteran employees provide mentorship, career guidance, as well as share about their particular industry, company, and career paths.

Furthermore, with our class-size ratio, veteran participants are able to expand their professional networks and begin to build meaningful relationships with professionals who are willing and able to help them begin new careers.

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The impact on this generation of veterans hinges on the quality of our instruction.

We expect our teachers to be the very best at what they do. Our full-time and part-time instructors are military veterans and Gold Star family members with extensive professional experiences and expertise. They come from companies such as PwC, Google, Starbucks, Deloitte, Accenture, Aecom, AIG, Cintas, and Comcast.

All instructors must first successfully complete a semester-long instructor’s training course, taught in partnership with Columbia University, that prepares them for effectively engaging with our veteran participants and teaching our program.

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Most veterans fall into two camps: either they know where they want to work or they don’t know what they want to do.

The FourBlock experience allows the former to discover options that they never knew about. 87% of our alumni say FourBlock introduced them to new careers and organizations that they would not have considered otherwise.

The FourBlock experience provides the latter the ability to explore industries in a structured setting and the tools to pursue a career right for them. 93% of our alumni say FourBlock helped them feel more confident moving forward in their career.

Both experiences come from our Career Readiness Program. Over the course of an academic semester, veteran participants meet once a week with instructors and companies. This length provides students time to consume and reflect on the material at their own pace. Each week, they will be expected to complete assigned coursework, provided online through Columbia University. The in-person classes are engagements that provide the opportunity to practice the concepts taught online in a real-life corporate setting.

But most importantly, we don’t believe in a series of workshops and handouts. All FourBlock alumni are offered follow-on support and mentorship after completing our program; many return to the program to support the next cohort of transitioning veterans. Furthermore, because of our presence in nearly every corner of the country, any FourBlock alumni can participate in any FourBlock city events, even if it’s located across the country. Many of our alumni have found their careers in the city of their choice through our network.

We believe transition is a journey. And journeys are always better with friends. Join our community and together, let’s build a better veteran transition process.

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