A bevy of organizations and businesses made their initial pitch Thursday to college students in the Pittsburgh region to encourage them to stay here.

The pitch was part of the kickoff the third year of the Pittsburgh Passport program, led by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. The program provides internships and activities for college students in the region and it started Thursday, with a virtual meeting on Zoom with more than 450 participants.

“We want you to join us in Pittsburgh to be part of the fabric of our place,” Allegheny Conference CEO Stefani Pashman told the students. “The future is so bright in Pittsburgh. We want you to be a part of it.”

The idea is make make the region the “destination of choice” for college students. Each year, more than 40,000 people graduate from the institutions covered by the 10-county region the conference serves. But more than half of those students leave the region, according to the conference.

Those graduates should consider staying in Pittsburgh, Pashman said.

The conference was founded in 1944 to clean up and develop post-war Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. It now serves Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

The participants in the Passport kickoff ranged from University of Pittsburgh rising seniors to those from other schools in the region, including Robert Morris University, Westminster College in Lawrence County, and others who are from Pittsburgh but studying elsewhere.

They heard from Alison Treaster, senior director of talent at the Allegheny Conference, and others, including former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Baron Batch, who is now a Pittsburgh-based artist, about the reasons they should consider making a home in the city.

Pittsburgh is special, said Batch, a native of Odessa, Texas.

At 33, Batch is part of a generation that’s looking for a place to call home that meets their needs.

“We are very much a part of a generation that looks at where we want to be,” Batch said.

He chose Pittsburgh because of its “fabric built through collaboration,” he said.

There’s a sense of community in Pittsburgh and people work together, he said.

“I love it for that reason,” Batch said.

He called Pittsburgh a place where there’s a simple, enjoyable day-to-day experience.

If the students remain in Pittsburgh, it’s a win for him and for everyone else in the city, he said.

The Passport program includes six weeks of events to showcase the region, allow for participants to network with businesses in the city, become more aware of the activities available in it and make contacts to pursue jobs in the region.

“Pittsburgh competes with cities from around the world for talent which is critical to every growing business and region,” said BNY Mellon executive Eric Boughner, who also leads the Allegheny Conference’s talent steering committee.

“With the Passport, employers here are collaborating, rather than competing, for talent and we think this approach will put us in the lead as students choose their destinations after college” he said.

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