We were thrilled to have sponsored AfroTech 2022, the largest U.S. conference for Black tech professionals, for a second consecutive year. At Expedia Group (EG), we’re building a more open world for all travelers, and we enjoyed celebrating our community and the power of Black travelers at this event. 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​From November 13-17, employees across EG attended AfroTech – the largest multicultural tech conference – in Austin, TX, including many members of our Expedia Group Early Careers community. Members of our Early Careers recruitment team, former New Graduates, and current New Graduates, had a great time connecting with many of the 20,000+ Black tech innovators who attended the conference. Check out how our Early Careers folks showed up at AfroTech 2022, below.

---

---

Early Careers team

The Early Careers team help us to power the future of travel. The team introduce candidates to our great Apprenticeship, Intern, and Graduate opportunities. In addition to supporting candidates through our application process, the team are also on-hand throughout the entirety of each program (Apprenticeship, Internship, Graduate programs). They do this by providing guidance, career development and managing the entirety of the programs. Find out why the team enjoyed attending AfroTech, below.

Sean Bea

What is your role at Expedia Group?
I manage Early Careers recruiting for NORAM. I’m based out of Chicago, IL and have been with the organization for over a year.

How did you support at AfroTech?
I was one of the recruitment leaders at the Expedia Group booth and supported conversations with all booth visitors.

What was your key takeaway?
The atmosphere and environment was like no other. EVERYONE was excited and happy to share their story. I loved participating in an event where people that looked like me shared their stories and were open to making changes in the tech industry.

What did you enjoy the most about the conference?
I don’t want to be cliché, but ‘the people’ was the greatest part. I loved sharing the EG story and what EG means to me. However, I loved hearing what others had to share and how their stories connected to EG.

What was the best part about meeting students during the conference?
I loved connecting the dots – of what they love to do and how they want to the change the world with EG’s values and mission. Every student I encountered shared a commonality with travel. They traveled to get to AfroTech and their travel story connects with our values. More importantly, closing the bridge on the cultural differences through travel made my heart smile. This was one of the best events I’ve ever experienced and I am grateful to meet so many on the journey.

Melissa Cano

What is your role at Expedia Group?

I’m a Recruiter for the Early Careers team.

How did you support at AfroTech?
I helped to manage our recruitment table throughout the week of the conference. I shared about information about Early Careers at EG, and our internship opportunities, with attendees who stopped by our table.

What was your key takeaway?
This was my first time attending AfroTech, and was impressed by the magnitude and size of the event. My takeaway was that it became this hub of inspiration and motivation for everyone involved. This outcome creates significant momentum for tech innovation that will benefit the global community.

What did you enjoy the most about the conference?
In addition to speaking with students, I was incredibly excited to reconnect with my colleagues from Expedia Group offices around the world. We had people travel from all parts of the U.S., and the world, to be at this conference. It was great to see my colleagues who I don’t get to see on a normal basis.

What was the best part about meeting students during the conference?
The best part about meeting students was seeing their aura of excitement and energy. It was a reminder for me the future is bright in the tech industry.

Mikelle Moore

What is your role at Expedia Group?
I am a Recruiter for the Early Careers Team

How did you support at AfroTech?
I was able to support AfroTech in many ways as a Recruiter and VP of BEAM (Black Expedia Allied Movement – an Inclusion Business Group) Chicago. I worked closely with the rest of the Early Careers recruiters to identify potential candidates who would be attending AfroTech and do outreach before the conference in Austin. After initial outreach encouraging attendees to apply to our roles, I offered support to candidates who applied to the Product Management, Program Management, and Mobile Engineering Early Career roles that I manage for North America. 

I was able to spend majority of the time at the Expedia Group booth in the Expo Hall, sharing information about the culture and benefits of working at Expedia Group. As well as networking and building community with Expedia Group’s BEAM members from across the globe and other conference attendees who are blazing the way in the tech space!

What was your key takeaway?
I would say my biggest takeaway was the energy that the conference gave me overall! I am completely energized by the amount of creativity and talent that the conference showcased, and by seeing so many eager students seeking internships and full time roles! I am excited to see how tech companies and initiatives will benefit from this emerging talent! 

What did you enjoy the most about the conference?
The thing I enjoyed most about AfroTech was engaging with everyone at the conference, plus the networking and community building that happened. I was able to meet Expedia Group colleagues for the first time, after Zoom meetings and collaborating for months. Building that community with my co-workers as well as making connections with people from other companies really reinforced my commitment to strengthening connections and bridging divides!

What was the best part about meeting students during the conference?
The best part about meeting the students there was the talent, drive, and tenacity they exuded. It reminded me why I have been recruiting for Early Career roles for over 6 years! I am always so impressed by the projects, previous internships, and work, students put in to make their dreams come true. I just appreciate being able to be a connector playing a small part in what it takes to make it happen! 

Manreet Singh

What is your role at Expedia Group?
I am an Associate Recruiter for the Early Careers Team

How did you support at AfroTech?
Prior to the conference I was reviewing the AfroTech resumes we received and inviting candidates to apply to our Early Career roles. We helped guide them through the process so they could interview in-person during AfroTech. During the event I spoke with some amazing early talent about opportunities at Expedia Group and invited them to apply to our roles. We also provided support to candidates who applied to our roles, after they’d met us at AfroTech.

What was your key takeaway?
Representation and diversity is needed to gain and retain talent. There were so many individuals who came up to the EG booth just wanting to hear about diversity at Expedia and if the company was inclusive from the perspective of a current employee. Being able to talk to potential future candidates about our Inclusion Business Groups, events, and initiatives really helped me connect with people and I even had some other employers from other companies stop by and share ideas.

What did you enjoy the most about the conference?
I loved the excitement and diversity at AfroTech. There was always something going on and there were even some celebrities, like Ludacris, who were there!  

What was the best part about meeting students during the conference?
The students were full of so much energy and all of them said they loved to travel. All of the students we came across seemed very interested in Expedia, too! (Especially hearing about travel benefits).

---

Current New Graduates on the Expedia Group Graduate Program

With so many great folks at AfroTech 2022 to meet, we needed the support from Expedians far and wide. We were fortunate to be joined at the conference by several of our current new graduates, who could share some of their expertise and advice with many of the students there. Find out what our new grads enjoyed about the event, and their time at Expedia Group so far.

Xavier Dixon

Xavier is based in our Chicago office and joined the Expedia Group Graduate Program in August 2022 as a Commercial Graduate.

Maya Sowells

Maya is based in our Austin office and joined the Expedia Group Graduate Program in August 2022 as a Commercial Graduate.

Wale Oyediran

Wale is based in our Austin office and joined the Expedia Group Graduate Program in August 2022 as a Commercial Graduate.

---

Early Careers Interviewers

Marissa joined Expedia Group’s Austin office as a Software Development Engineer Graduate, and started on the Expedia Group Graduate Program in August 2021. After completing two team rotations, Marissa successfully completed the program and joined her Destination Role in the Recommendations team. Marissa was just one of our recent new graduates who kindly supported us at AfroTech 2022.

Marisa Jenkins

What is your role at Expedia Group?

I am a Software Development Engineer II on the Recommendations team.

How did you support the team at AfroTech?

I conducted software engineering interviews for our internship and new graduate programs.

What did you enjoy the most about AfroTech?

Afrotech is an amazing opportunity to learn more about different parts of technology that I don’t interact with on a daily basis. It was great to see the work happening at a higher level across different companies and hearing from experts regarding the future of tech, how we can support students studying technology and best practices around product development. Plus the food was yummy!

What was the best part about meeting students at the conference?

All the students I met were very eager to learn and were prepared to talk about their various passions and how that overlaps with the goals we have at Expedia. The students all possessed genuine interest and have worked hard either in school or in personal projects to help them gain some experience. The students were easy to talk to and contributed to the great conference experience.

---

Join our Early Careers Career Network

We’re looking for outstanding talent to join us on our mission to power global travel for everyone, everywhere. By joining our career network, you’ll have exclusive access to our latest opportunities, events, interview advice, and global insights from our Expedia Group leaders. Sign up now!