Career and Mentoring Day
for People with Disabilities
By Divya Ghia
Career and mentoring opportunities for the minority job seeking
market are generally harder to come by, but on Wednesday October
26, 2005 the situation proved to be quite optimistic for those individuals.
This day served as a symbol of great potential for the job seekers
who struggle with a disability, because that day, they had the chance
to connect and network with a host of different employers and business
leaders from all over Minnesota.
The Minnesota Business Leadership Network presented the 2nd annual
Minnesota Career Development Day which was held at Medtronic Corporate
World Headquarters. The event was a wonderful marketplace for college
students and graduates to put their best foot forward and focus on
their abilities and strengths to gain a job or internship opportunities
with major corporations such as Medtronic, 3M, Microsoft, and Deloitte.
The morning session kicked off with representatives from the participating
companies addressing their corporate values to the attendees. Fairview
Health Services, Federal Agencies, and Ameriprise Financial were
among the presenters.
The keynote speaker,
Jennifer Sheehy-Keller, the President’s
appointed Special Assistant for Employment to the Assistant Secretary
of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation and the Acting
Deputy Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration
in the US Department of Education (OSERS), gave an inspiring discourse
about her personal struggles with a disability and how she was able
to overcome the obstacles in her life to achieve her success. Sheehy-Keller
encouraged the audience to shoot for the stars and go for their
dreams.
Next, a Q & A session
with a panel of speakers who have disabilities addressed various
topics through a great selection of questions from audience participants.
The panel’s speakers gave invaluable
information to the audience because of their experience in having
gained success in school and in their jobs, regardless of their disabilities.
The wise-ranging panelists consisted of a Medtronic employee, college
students, disability activists, and many others.
The last event of the day was a career fair which offered students
and job seekers a chance to market their skills and talents to the
employers at their given booths and also to participate in a resume
review session.
The key message conveyed
by the presenters throughout the day was, that no matter what your
disability, focus on your abilities. Dismiss the “dis” in disability, and just see how success will
follow you everywhere you go. Presenter and State Representative,
Torrey Westrom reminds us, “If you don’t control your
attitude, it will control you.”
For more information about
the Minnesota Business Leadership Network or about the above event,
log onto: www.mnbln.org.
The MNBLN will host another Career Development Day in 2006, as well
as hosting the US Business Leadership Network Annual meeting in Minnesota.
If you are interested in being involved in the planning of either
of these events, please contact Terri Ricci at 651-644-2133 or Karen
Quammen at 763-505-2663.
