WASHINGTON, D.C.- It is rare for student-athletes to have the opportunity to network with high-level executives at Fortune 500 companies in a competition-style format. This is exactly the opportunity that three Track & Field athletes at VCU had over spring break. 

Redshirt senior jumper Sydney Carr, sophomore hurdler Marcus Acheampong and junior jumper Isaiah-Taji Kargbo-Owens each attended Career Discovery Week hosted by Cisco and World Wide Technology (WWT) in coordination with Scholar-AthELITE CEO Rashard Hall. 

Career Discovery Week is a recruiting trip that brings the best and brightest minds from across the world to Fortune 500 companies who desire to pursue them for career opportunities. The three VCU athletes represented the Rams at the event of 40 total participants from 13 universities and seven countries. Each VCU athlete is an Information Systems major at the university which is a high-demand discipline within technology and engineering. 

During the event, the cohort spent one full day at Cisco and one full day at WWT where they spent the morning touring the company, interacting with panels and meeting with company leaders. During the afternoon, each participant competed in three real-time competitions where they were evaluated by company leaders based on their abilities in several professional categories. 

Carr was awarded as the overall trip winner or Most Valuable Professional after finishing as a finalist in each of the four individual events and runner-up in the Executive Value Proposition pitch at WWT and the Product to Personal pitch at Cisco. As Most Valuable Professional, Carr was the top emerging talent recognized for exceptional leadership, executive presence, strategic networking and enterprise impact throughout the experience. 

"Sydney was nicknamed the Beyonce of this group by her peers," Hall said. "When God-given talent meets elite preparation, humility, leadership and intelligence, that combination is rare."

Her accomplishments at Career Discovery Week added on to her already illustrious career on the track. Carr is in her fifth season competing with VCU where she specializes in the long jump and triple jump. She won a silver medal in the triple jump at the 2025 Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships and won A-10 Field Performer of the Week during the 2026 indoor season. She knows how to perform at the highest level and her experience in front of industry leaders was no different.

"Career Discovery Week showed me the power and synergy of being surrounded by the best," Carr said. "The best coaches (Britt Hunter), the best companies, and the best scholar-athletes."

Carr was joined at the event by two of her teammates in Acheampong and Kargbo-Owens. Kargbo-Owens was a finalist in the Product to Personal Problem Pitch competition where students identified a real-world challenge or friction point within the industry and pitched how a company product or service could solve or improve it. 

On the track, Kargbo-Owens is enjoying a breakout junior season in which he has set a personal-record in both the triple jump and long jump. He won a bronze medal in the triple jump at the A-10 Indoor Championships and was victorious in the event at the UCF Black & Gold Challenge to begin the outdoor season. The Falls Church, Va. native showed off his work ethic throughout the trip that has allowed him success both on and off the track. 

"[Kargbo-Owen's] innovative ideas and team-first mentality made him a shining star throughout the trip." Hall said, "He paired an unmatched work ethic with a constant smile and an encouraging attitude that elevated everyone around him."

Kargbo-Owens attributed the event to allowing him to find new heights and giving him new professional opportunities.

"This experience comes with so many opportunities–you just have to be willing to capitalize on it." Kargbo-Owens said, "If you want something, you have to go and get it, even if that means stepping out of your comfort zone."

Acheampong also participated in the competition and showed off his humanitarian focus and work ethic. He set a program record in the A-10 Indoor Championships for the 60m hurdles with a 7.88s time in the preliminary round. Similar to Kargbo-Owens, Acheampong is enjoying a breakout sophomore campaign as a sprinter and hurdler. 

"His humble excellence, paired with his work ethic, will make him a value-add to any company." Hall said, "You rarely see Olympic-caliber athletes who can translate their intangibles from the locker room to the boardroom the way he can."

As the CEO and founder of Scholar-AthELITE, Hall knows the importance of helping student-athletes prepare for life after sport. He was an All-American football player at Clemson before a stint in the NFL. As an athlete, he saw firsthand how intangible skills like leadership, discipline and performance translate into professional success. With Scholar-AthELITE, he has a 100% job placement rate and has placed students in careers with major Fortune 500 companies like Adobe, Google and Cisco.

"Virginia Commonwealth University and its athletic department has shown me that the talent they recruit is elite both on and off the track." Hall said, "This cohort included top career talent from around the world, and the Most Valuable Professional came from VCU in Sydney Carr."

Of the three VCU athletes, each of them said they became better professionals and that they feel more prepared to obtain a career opportunity. Hall worked with VCU Assistant AD for Student-Athlete Development Garrett Knudson to allow the student-athletes to participate in the prestigious event.

"Knudson and his department have done a phenomenal job ensuring that athletes have opportunities to experiences like these." Hall said, "When scholar-athletes are deciding where to take their athletic talent, I hope they choose a school like VCU– one that invests in their development beyond sports."

The Career Discovery Week experience is meant for student-athletes and students who possess intangibles that athletes have. The experience is an annual event and any student interested in participating in future experiences can register at SchAthElite.com.