This document provides an overview for volunteers coaching with the SuitUp program. SuitUp runs creative educational competitions that connect corporations with underserved schools to expand career awareness for students. As a coach, volunteers will lead a team of 15 students over 3 virtual sessions to develop a new product or service idea. Coaches will use Miro for collaboration and Zoom for video conferencing. The sessions include an introductory kickoff, office hours for development, and a final presentation with judges. Tips are provided on engaging students, keeping the sessions moving, and setting high expectations for students' work.

1. SuitUp Volunteer
Overview
How To Be A Great SuitUp Coach
2021

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Guide Overview
1. What is SuitUp?
2. Coaching with SuitUp
3. SuitUp Sessions
4. Innovative Tools
5. Next Steps

3. What is SuitUp?
Learn more about your volunteer experience

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Our vision
To make education more exciting and relevant for
students who need it most by aligning the incentives
of companies and schools.
WHAT IS SUITUP?
Our mission
SuitUp provides creative and interactive educational
competitions that connects corporations with schools
in low-income communities to expand career
awareness opportunities for students.

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SuitUp operates from an antiracist framework in each step of our
Theory of Change:
THEORY OF CHANGE
Two Problems
1 . Companies lack diverse talent
and lack strategies to further future
diversity in their industry.
2. Many low socioeconomic status
students fail to connect academic
success with future work
opportunities.
Our Solutions
We provide companies with fun, skill-
based volunteer events and
opportunities by aligning volunteer
materials and topics with employee skill
sets and schedules. We also handle all
logistics, including planning, facilitation,
and materials.
We provide students with an
opportunity to work with a corporate
office through innovative and engaging
business case competitions grounded
in real world skills and educational
connections.
The Local Impact
Companies have incentive
to improve education and
give back to their local
communities.
Students have higher
academic self-perception,
attitude towards school, and
motivation to learn.
The Global Impact
All students, regardless of
race, gender, or
socioeconomic status will
have the awareness,
access, and opportunity to
go to the college and select
the career of their choosing.
The Results
Volunteering becomes skill-based,
easy, fun, and impactful so
companies want to sign up for
multiple volunteer events each year.
Students receive access to a variety
of companies and different career
paths and how to get there–no longer
feeling like it’s “their world” and “our
world.” Students connect the skills
they learn in the classroom with
different college or career paths they
might never have heard of before
SuitUp.

6. Coaching with SuitUp
Take a peek at what you’ll do as a volunteer

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I’m a SuitUp Coach, now what?
As a coach, it’s up to you and your co-
workers to:
• LEAD - Students can’t win the first-place cash
prize without you!
• INSPIRE - Coaches are responsible for
working with students to help build a new and
innovative product, service, or app.
• EMPOWER- Guide and develop students as
they prepare to pitch their idea to a panel of
judges.
YOUR ROLE

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Great, who’s on my team?
• 15 coworkers from your company
• MS or HS students from an
underserved school (no more than
15 students/team)
• Students will be on one singular device in the
same room
REMEMBER…
Here’s your chance to build authentic
relationships with each student
throughout the week.
YOUR TEAM

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Let’s break the competition down further…
YOUR ROLE IN THE COMPETITION
Your team’s students
are competing for a
cash prize…
Your team will need to
come up with an idea
and build that idea over
the next two days
before recording the
final pitch at the end of
day 2…
Consistency is KEY…
It is imperative to
capture as many
detailed notes and
information through the
Miro boards as
possible to help your
team come out
victorious!
SuitUp Staff as
Support
There will be an
additional SuitUp
Staff Member in
each team’s room to
help. You are
leading the team as
the Coaches!
If you can return
for Day 1 & 2…
Please Do!
To maintain
uninterrupted,
consistent support
for the students, we
encourage having
the same volunteers
across the duration
of the competition
This competition is very unique and dynamic, because most of you are only participating for one day, while the students are
participating for 3…
If you are listed as
a “Judge” for Day
3…
• You will need to
email your name,
college/university
& major
• You will not have
a team
• You will be
required to watch
the video the
night before

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Let’s break it down further with Coach Roles
YOUR ROLE
Team Captain
This role is perfect for a
volunteer who loves to
keep the conversation
flowing! Team Captains
are responsible for
introducing each step
and reviewing directions
for the team.
Miro Master (Scribe)
This role is ideal for a
volunteer who likes to
keep a team organized
and communication
clear. Miro Masters are
responsible for sharing
their screen and
navigating the team's
Miro board inputting and
notes throughout the
competition week.
Time-Keeper
If you are an “agenda
guru,” then role for you.
The Time- Keeper
managers the clock to
ensure that your team
finishes each step on
time.
Pitch-a-Pedia
(Researcher)
Throughout the
competition, your team of
students will have many,
many questions. We
don't expect you to have
all the answers. The
Pitch-A-Pedia role is
responsible for looking
up answers to questions
and finding helpful
resources to support
student learning
throughout the week.
To help keep things organized, we’ve created four different coach roles that your team can adapt to make sure each volunteer
coach has a focus during the week. (These roles are recommended but not required.)

11. Okay, what does a SuitUp
Session look like?
Let’s review our three virtual sessions and their
objectives

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Kickoff Session
SUITUP OBJECTIVES
Total Time: 90 minutes - (breakout room use in green)
SuitUp Welcome:
The SuitUp team welcomes both students and volunteers to the Kickoff Session, reviews Miro, expectations, and the business case
challenge.
Step 1: Ice Breaker
The SuitUp team moves each team into their breakout rooms. Team Captains review the step instructions before engaging to get to know
each other!
Step 2: Introduction to the Challenge
Team captains review the step before engaging the team in learning more about the company.
Step 3: Brainstorming
Find an area of opportunity that has not yet been explored by the company and create a new product, service, app or other based on this
opportunity.
Step 4: Plan the Pitch
Help students join a development division: strategy, marketing, or design by review each team's deliverables for the next session.
Step 5: Action Items
Help your students organize what was accomplished this session and prepare a plan for next session by review action items as a team.
SuitUp Wrap Up
The SuitUp team briefs volunteers and students on tomorrow's session and answers any questions from students or volunteers.

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Office Hours Session
SUITUP OBJECTIVES
Total Time: 90 minutes - (breakout room use in green)
SuitUp Welcome:
The SuitUp team welcomes both students and volunteers to the Office Hours Session, reviews Miro, expectations, and
reviews the agenda.
Step 6: Division Development
Each team will be broken into mini-breakout rooms to work on their strategy, marketing, and design development before
joining their team again.
Step 7: Practice & Film the Pitch
Teams agree on how they want their pitch to flow by outlining an introduction and closing slide before practicing. When
ready, the SuitUp staff will film each team’s pitch.
SuitUp Wrap Up
The SuitUp team briefs volunteers and students on the next session and answers any questions from students or
volunteers.

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Final Presentation Session
SUITUP OBJECTIVES
Total Time: 60 minutes
SuitUp Welcome:
The SuitUp team welcomes both students and volunteers to the Final Presentation session and overviews the agenda.
Meet the Judges
The panel of judges will introduce themselves by sharing their name, role at the company, and education background.
Watch the Pitches
Watch the final presentation video as a group.
Feedback Survey
Take 2-3 minutes to complete a quick feedback survey so we can collect data to quantify the impact SuitUp had on
volunteers and students
Group Reflection
Students and volunteers share what the experience was like from their perspective through naming what was learned and
how students grew.
Judges Feedback & Announce the Winner
Judges share glows and grows for each team before announcing the winning team.

15. I’m ready to go, what technology
should I be familiar with?
SuitUp uses three innovative tools for the virtual competition

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Here’s what we use to operate a virtual competition
INNOVATIVE TOOLS
Miro is an interactive and virtual
whiteboard that each team of
students and volunteers will use to
collaborate during the competition.
SuitUp customizes each board to
match the corporate challenge.
Don’t worry, SuitUp will train
everyone on the platform during
the first session! Check one out
here!
We use Zoom to facilitate our video
conference sessions in collaboration
with your event page (Bevy). The
SuitUp team prearranges breakout
rooms using participant details so
that your volunteers can get right to
work with their team.
The SuitUp Community is a one-
stop shop platform designed to
streamline communication and
make each event easily
accessible. This allows us to
customize each competition’s
event page so that volunteers and
students can easily register for the
event, find materials, and click to
join each session.
COMMUNITY

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Coaches will mainly work with
Miro
Miro is an interactive whiteboard for
your team to use during the
competition
• Miro is an interactive whiteboard that
will be screen shared by one volunteer
per team (typically the Miro Master
role)
• Miro has many tools to use and you
can access each with the keyboard
shortcuts
• Click here to access a guide video
MEET MIRO

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Coaches will be joining the
competition via Zoom
Zoom is the virtual conferencing
platform your team will use during the
competition
• Zoom’s breakout rooms and recording
features are crucial to competition
success
• Breakout rooms will allow teams to
work collaboratively and in confidence
from the larger group
• Coaches will also be given access to
the recording feature during Office
Hours to record pitches
MEET ZOOM

19. Working with Students
Tips & Best Practices
Never worked with kids before? Remembering how
awful middle school can be? No worries- SuitUp has
your back.

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Though each team has a SuitUp staff member
as support, remember that you are the
students’ primary mentor. At SuitUp, we
provide the skills students need to be an
entrepreneur and we need professionals like
yourselves to drive those conversations
forward.
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

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Start off strong
Kickoff Session
• Your Introduction Matters: Create a personal connection with your students by sharing relatable and fun facts
about your life. You probably have more in common with your students than you think.
• Open Questions: Before diving into your business case, ask your students how they are to establish trust with
your team.
• Make a Plan: Establish your team’s goal for the week–is it winning the cash prize, developing the strongest
idea, or exploring new topics? Then work with your students to identify how your team can achieve this goal.
• Mute the Mic: Remind students of conference call norms that you use every day and explain the importance of
muting the mic when you are not speaking.
• SuitUp Thumbs Up: Encourage students and your fellow coaches to use a SuitUp Thumbs Up to show
support when someone is speaking.
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

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Keep It Moving
Office Hours Session
• Student Preparation Can Vary: Your students may have prepared various levels of work before joining the
session today. Keep in mind our students may complete work for today’s session without interacting with your
team’s Miro Board. Regardless of the preparation level, do not backtrack. Start with Step 5: Pitch Preparation to
get your student engaged in today’s session.
• Public Speaking Nerves Will Happen: Before filming, remind your students that you get nervous too when
speaking in front of an audience. Give real examples from your professional career to help students relate and
feel more connected to you and your fellow coaches. Lastly, celebrate how far you’ve come as a team before
diving into the next step, so students build their professional confidence.
• You May Run Out of Time: Today’s session may feel rushed, but we promise it is all an intentional part of the
SuitUp process for students. Remind students that they have an extra session just in case their team needs
more time. Explain to students how in the professional world, you often set personal due dates 2-3 days before
actual due date to avoid any delays due to uncontrollable interferences.
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

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You will be working with brilliant students.
They are excited to work with and learn from
you. As their coach, set expectations high for
the quality of work they produce during the
week.
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

24. Next Steps
Learn more about to continue supporting SuitUp

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Here are the tools & resources
specific to your competition:
COACH GUIDE
EVENT PAGE
YOUR COMPETITION RESOURCES

26. QUESTIONS?

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Thank you.

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Erica Davis
Program Director
313-405-7448
erica@volunteersuitup.org
Sara Hill
Program Director
941-286-1931
sara@volunteersuitup.org