The day before leading the Western Conference All-Stars to a double-overtime victory over the East, MVP Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves spent Saturday afternoon hosting a student focus group, attended by Atlanta-area students and leading business executives. The focus group was a critical first step for the technological component of Garnett's 4XL—For Excellence in Leadership Foundation^SM in conjunction with Monster, the leading global online careers property.

4XL, a Kevin Garnett Foundation, was launched in February 2002 to connect minority high school and college students with business leaders and internet-based guidance, while preparing them for business-related careers and entrepreneurship. In 2003, 4XL joined with Monster to develop the online component for the program. The relationship will give students throughout the country access to career development tools and services online through Monster's leading technology. The co-branded website will also enable students to gain exposure to business careers; provide access to scholarship, internship, and job opportunities; and receive advice from business and community leaders on how to achieve their career goals.

Garnett led the focus group on Feb. 8 with Atlanta-area minority high school and college students, who shared their career aspirations and perceived challenges to achieving their goals. Garnett also solicited their input on a prototype version of the 4XL website and career development tools that will launch later this year, powered by Monster. Three influential business leaders also shared their personal experiences and advice with the students — senior Harvard Business School Professor James Cash, who is also a board member at Microsoft Corporation and General Electric; Michael Dennis, a senior executive at Avaya Corporation; and Steve Pogorzelski, president of Monster for North America.

"It was a great experience to bring these young people together with true business role models and to share a little of what I have learned during my journey as a professional athlete and an entrepreneur," Garnett said. "But getting feedback from the students — the real experts — on how 4XL can reach them and give them a roadmap to reach their dreams was the most fun."

Garnett's 4XL — For Excellence in Leadership^SM Foundation provides high school and early college students with exposure to and preparation for business careers through a personalized technology-based academic/career guidance roadmap in an alliance with Monster, and two- to three-day business immersion experiences at corporations. Garnett launched 4XL's corporate immersion program at the 2002 NBA All-Star Weekend by bringing two Minneapolis-area students to Philadelphia to learn about the business side of the National Basketball Association. 4XL is a partnership with Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT, www.ML4T.org), a New York-based non-profit 501c3 organization.