students Archives - Johnson Scholarship Foundation

Take Stock in Children/Johnson Scholars Celebrates Month of Service

March 8, 2023/in Gbolade George, News

The following article was submitted by the Take Stock in Children/Johnson Scholars Program of the School District of Palm Beach County. It is shared here with permission.

The Take Stock in Children/Johnson Scholars Program of the School District of Palm Beach County helps students build their college and career readiness through mentorship and college coaching.

This year in the program’s college and career readiness clubs, students had the opportunity to give back to their campuses by developing and implementing a school-based community service project. During the November 2022 and January 2023 College Readiness club meetings, scholars were tasked with identifying and organizing an activity that would somehow impact their school campuses.

In February, 11 club schools of the Take Stock in Children/Johnson Scholars Program (TSICJS) implemented or began their community service projects.

Jupiter High School students celebrated their custodians. When asked how the activity impacts their school and peers, Kimberly Lopez-Vasquez stated, “This activity helps our custodians know that they are appreciated and loved for everything they do.”

Brenda Garcia-Corona reflected, “I enjoyed seeing all the Jupiter High custodians happy with all the nice words that were being told to them, and seeing them have a great time with [one] other eating food.”

John I. Leonard High School students also chose to celebrate their custodians. “I enjoyed the smiles on everyone’s faces and how there was so much laughter,” said Nan Mildort.

“What I most enjoyed was eating and watching the custodians dance and have fun,” said Daniella Estrada.

“I got out of my comfort zone and read my card out loud,” said Lake Worth High student Isabel Avila Ochoa. “I helped out [by] putting stuff on the tables and helped with posters; I liked the feeling I got seeing the cafeteria workers smile and realize how much we truly appreciate them.”

“I enjoyed looking at café workers being happy today and I am glad that we did it for them,” said Micaylove Atis, Lake Worth High School.

William T. Dwyer student and cheerleader Ze’Rhyeahh Bradly remarked, “It felt great seeing all the coaches have a smile on their faces.”

“What I enjoyed most was seeing how appreciated the coaches felt and it really touched my heart to see them smiling,” said Abd Al Sami Abukhalil of William T. Dwyer High School.

The most I enjoyed while participating in this service project was the collaboration among the students who were also participating in this lovely service project,” says Palm Beach Gardens High School student Ali Hayder. “This activity allows students in the school to feel more pleased about school and themselves. It also helps support the idea that the school and TSICJS will always have our backs.”

Working as a group to celebrate others was fun. Bryan Bacallao, Forest Hill High School.

“We began with a budget and then we decided on the flowers that would be planted. We also laid out all of the materials that we would need and agreed on the date we would start. I feel that it would make people feel that they would have a safe, positive space to relax at during lunch or in the morning. It could be a hangout place that could allow different groups to connect with each other, and uplift the school’s spirit,” said Elisha Jackson, Palm Beach Gardens High School.

Other schools used the month to begin their projects. Village Academy plans to spoil their bus drivers during the month of March. Palm Beach Lakes plans on rolling out the red carpet for the visiting 8th graders by welcoming them into their family. Glades Central High School began designing their bench painting project. They plan to paint eight benches in the front of the school with inspirational phrases and school spirit.

Santaluces High and Pahokee High are both implementing paint projects to beautify their schools. Pahokee spent the month of February [learning] how to paint the school’s sidewalk appropriately. Santaluces spent the month designing their canvas art meant to add décor to the school’s media center.

Santaluces High School student Josh Octave designs his canvas art that will be hung in the school’s media center.

The Take Stock/Johnson Scholars were able to pay it forward at their home schools by developing and implementing projects that were impactful. Implementing these projects helped bring more awareness of the program to the schools.

Support for our scholars was gained by administration, staff, and other students, who are already brainstorming ways to impact their campuses next year.

Gbolade George is an Instructional Specialist with the School District of Palm Beach County’s Take Stock in Children/Johnson Scholars Program.

Wine Industry Scholarship Program Provides Opportunities for First-Generation Students

December 23, 2019/in Khou Yang-Vigil, News

The Johnson Scholarship Foundation and Sonoma State University (SSU) are partnering to support an innovative scholarship program focused on first-generation, low-income students whose families are connected to the wine industry. SSU is located in the heart of California’s premier wine region and serves approximately 9,300 students annually. Approximately 30 percent of SSU students are first-generation, low-income, or from underserved populations. Given the location of our campus, many of these students have family members employed by wineries.

Large group of students in front of the Wine Spectator Learning Center at Sonoma State University — Students in the Summer Bridge orientation program pose for a photo in front of the Wine Spectator Learning Center at Sonoma State University. SSU hosts Summer Bridge for first-generation low-income students in the summer prior to their first year on campus.

Given the wine industry’s interest in supporting the children of employees— as well as educating the future workforce —SSU’s Wine Business Institute started the Wine Industry Scholarship Program (WISP) in 2016. WISP is designed to attract financial support for first-generation, low-income students who have family ties to the wine industry. WISP scholarship recipients do not need to be pursing wine business as a major: they simply need to have a family member who is employed in the wine industry, for example a vineyard worker or cellar staff member.

The Wine Industry Scholarship Program has expanded to attract financial support for SSU’s academic and career services for first-generation, low-income students. The additional advisors and programs created by WISP now serve nearly 2,000 students each year, in addition to the students who receive WISP scholarships.

WISP began as a program offering students $2,500 scholarships that are renewable for up to four years ($10,000 total). Thanks to the generosity of SSU’s winery partners, SSU quickly secured commitments from some of the industry’s largest names, including Korbel, Rodney Strong, and Wine.com. SSU’s first cohort of WISP scholars in 2017 featured 15 students, with 27 WISP scholarships awarded in 2018 and an additional 27 in 2019. To date, SSU has awarded WISP scholarships to 69 students for a total of nearly $700,000 in scholarship support in just three years!

The guidance and financial support of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation (JSF) has inspired SSU to grow its ambitions for how the campus can assist first-generation, low-income students. SSU is currently laying the groundwork for a much larger fundraising effort that will create a WISP scholarship endowment and bring in significant additional funds to enhance our overall support for the students who need it most.

SSU is grateful to the Johnson Scholarship Foundation for its commitment to provide 10 WISP scholarship matching gifts in 2020 and 2021. JSF is also providing a match commitment for WISP endowment gifts in subsequent years. SSU anticipates another remarkable program transformation as a result of this new fundraising effort, on the scale of the one that has taken place in the last two years. SSU looks forward to securing scholarship funds and program support that will benefit SSU students for generations to come.

Khou Yang-Vigil is the Educational Opportunity Program Coordinator and Professional Academic Advisor at Sonoma State University.

Why Volunteering Matters to Young People

April 10, 2019/in Korinne, News

The following article was written by Korinne, a Pathways to Education graduate from Shawinigan, Quebec. Pathways and JSF are proud to join Korinne in celebrating National Volunteer Week and the countless volunteers who donate their time and expertise to help young people achieve success.

It’s National Volunteer Week in Canada right now, and this annual celebration has inspired me to reflect on the important role volunteers have played in my life.

I will always remember Joanie, a volunteer who truly made a difference in my academic journey.

She was a volunteer tutor at Pathways to Education, and she spent many long hours helping me with my math homework.

I struggled a lot with math in high school, so her support made a big difference. I would often get quite discouraged and had a hard time motivating myself. But Joanie never gave up on me. She was infinitely patient and her contagious energy made it seem like math wasn’t the worst after all.

Two women with one wearing graduation cap and gown

It was after many long and demanding tutoring sessions that I realized how much Joanie had invested — not just in me, but in many other teenagers — and how important that time was to me.

Joanie helped me realize just how much I could accomplish. And that if I was able to overcome my struggles, everyone else could as well.

So, when I graduated from high school, I became a volunteer to help others, like Joanie helped me. It was a way to say ‘thank you’ to Joanie and to the other volunteers who supported not just me, but my entire community.

I strongly believe that volunteering at organizations like Pathways to Education is incredibly important for community growth. Some young people have trouble finding a caring and supportive framework during high school. It makes a big difference to have access to volunteers in safe environments that help you feel welcomed, supported in your studies and comfortable sharing how you’re doing.

Because of this, I think it’s important for cities to invest more in community involvement and to create additional opportunities for people to take part. I also think we can do a better job of making volunteering accessible and appealing to a younger crowd.

Donating their time can be a really powerful way for young people to enjoy the community they live in, and I encourage communities to invest in more meaningful volunteer opportunities that reflect youth interests, such as sports events, food festivals, and local shows.

The easier it is for young people to see themselves represented in volunteer opportunities, the more likely they’ll be to participate — creating a strong culture of volunteerism from a young age, and benefitting communities for generations to come.

Looking back today, it’s easy for me to see that volunteering has always been a huge part of my life. Whether it took the form of supportive tutors like Joanie or my own volunteering roles, volunteering has made me who I am, and I will always be always be grateful for that.

Creating Career Pathways at Mount Allison University

January 11, 2019/in Anne Comfort, News

Life had thrown him another curve ball! He had always bounced back, had worked through them and make it out the other side. This time it was different. The circumstances seemed to be beyond his control. He was tired and ready to give up. By the time he came to my office, he was not going to write his last exam that would qualify him for graduation. He had studied for five years, had contributed to university athletics, had given of his time to help first-year students. But he was done! This setback was more than he could imagine overcoming. He was ready to throw it all away. He didn’t care anymore and didn’t have the energy to go on.

Two women at a desk looking at a laptop screen

Then came along a professor who believed in him and she had an opportunity to help: a unique internship with an organization where she knew he could shine and be valued. But she needed funding to make it happen. When we dug into every pot of funding we had left, we came up short. The professor persevered; she wasn’t going to give up on him and neither were we.

Our fundraising office had an idea. Find a philanthropist who would be interested in funding an internship for a student with a disability. The philanthropist loved the idea and those few dollars were life-changing. The Johnson Scholarship Foundation (JSF) Pathways Program was developed to have three components: pre-orientation programing, pre-graduation programing, and professional development and experiential learning opportunities in between, in the form of internships designated for Meighen Centre students.

Teacher speaking with a student in an office

My student completed his degree requirements and was awarded his bachelor’s degree. He is now onto his second job and doing something he would never have imagined doing three or four years ago. His sights are set on graduate school where he can further his skills. That’s the power of philanthropy and the JSF Pathways Program at Mount Allison University.

Anne Comfort is the Director of Accessibility and Student Wellness at Mount Allison University. She is also the co-chair of the CACUSS (Canadian Association of College and University Student Services) Community of Practice on Inclusion and Accessibility.

Creating Visibility and Supportive Campus Environments for Native American Students

November 29, 2018/in Cheryl Crazy Bull, News

The American Indian College Fund explored how to support higher education’s role in creating safe and welcoming environments and greater visibility for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students at a convening it hosted of students, tribal college leaders and leaders from mainstream institutions of higher education (IHE), policy organizations and funders.

What we heard affirmed what we already knew — for Native students to be successful in college the institution must be committed to their inclusion.

Native students shared they want to go to college in an environment where their unique tribal identities are recognized, where their history and current lives are included in the curriculum and in campus life, and where they are visible.

Supporting education equity for Native students takes many forms. Native students at tribal colleges and mainstream institutions have benefited from Johnson Scholarship Foundation’s support of access to higher education through scholarships. The American Indian College Fund works to expand student support to specific ways that higher education institutions can be proactive with inclusion.

Four specific approaches were identified that can have an immediate impact on the experiences of Native students with higher education:

Land acknowledgment: All higher education institutions exist on land that once served as the homeland of one or more tribal nations. Westward expansion, war and removal all impacted the abilities of tribes to situate themselves or have claims on homelands. When land acknowledgment occurs, Native students’ existence and experience is validated. I’ve learned that it is also a good educational exercise because most people don’t know whose homelands they are living on.

2. Representation in curriculum, at events and functions and in public materials: The history and contemporary experiences of indigenous peoples are usually not represented in curriculum. In addition, many times Native peoples are not onstage or giving presentations and are rarely included in public-facing places like websites and brochures. IHE can examine and modify curriculum to insure inclusion. For example, any American government class that doesn’t include tribal governments as a form of governance in the U.S. should immediately remedy that. When events are organized and representatives of various populations are invited to participate, inclusion of Native speakers should be automatically considered and materials and media should be reviewed to determine if Native student photos and stories are included.

3. Data inclusion: Ensuring the institution’s leadership knows the status of Native students is critical to success, whether it is one student or 400. Often the numbers are used as an excuse for not knowing the status of Native students and for not reporting that status to the public and to enrolled students. This may require extra effort to define who will be included in that population and what reporting will look like, but it is essential to overcoming invisibility.

4. Facilitating pathways through expanded recruitment, scholarship support and student services: IHE should examine their recruitment footprint and ensure enough outreach to have a broad group of potential students. They should also ensure sufficient financial support and targeted student services are provided, including designated advisors and counselors. Students also shared that having their own space matters. Native student centers and residential housing creates visible support on campus.

It takes intentional effort and sufficient investment to create climates where Native students can succeed. Native students are themselves excellent informants about what works. Tribal colleges and universities are good resources for best practices and strategic partnerships to support success.

Cheryl Crazy Bull is a member of the Sicangu Lakota Tribe and is President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. She has more than 30 years of experience in Native higher education.

My Hardships Have Prepared Me

April 13, 2018/in Joselynne Zurita, News

The following is an excerpt from an essay on leadership written by a student in the Johnson Scholars Program, a college readiness program that is a partnership between the School District of Palm Beach County, Take Stock in Children Palm Beach County and the Johnson Scholarship Foundation. Her essay offers insights into the struggles many high school students are facing today. We will feature other student authors in the coming weeks.

Throughout my life, I have learned that being a leader means to be humble and let yourself be the staircase in which you lead others to walk on to succeed. The setbacks that I had in my life did not stop me from reaching the point where I am and thus becoming the stepping-stone for my family and others.

When I was 3 years old, my father found me unable to breathe and panicked knowing my life was on the line. My parents rushed me to the hospital late that night. The medical team checked my lungs and airway but there was no blockage, leaving the doctors with no explanation. My time was running thin as I became increasingly desperate for air. My parents were struggling with answers and grew impatient seeing their daughter helpless. Finally, a doctor arrived to the hospital and immediately he knew the cause and rushed me to the operating room.

He operated on the back of my neck, trying his best to save me. After almost 20 hours in surgery, I was finally reunited with my parents. I was awake by the time I was coming out, and I saw the tear-filled eyes of my father and mother. The last thing I remember before I went into the ICU was whispering to my father saying, “Don’t cry, Papi, everything will be okay.” The next day, I was waking up when the doctor came by my room to examine me to see if there is any visible neurological damage. As the doctor told me to stretch and move my fingers, we all noticed that I was having motor difficulties. He told to move my legs. Horror hit as I could not move them. My parents and I were devastated by the news that there were high chances that I may not be able to walk again.

Though this hit me hard, a voice inside me told me not to accept this diagnosis. Instead of accepting the wheelchair, I crawled on the floor every day, hoping that little by little, I would gain enough strength to stand on my own. After much time and perseverance, I was beginning to stand on my own and take small steps. With this new hope, I was placed in physical and occupational therapy. It took many months until I was completely rehabilitated. As I grew older, I would need constant check-ups from my doctor, not only because of my operation but also because of my weak immune system. I felt helpless and like a burden.

During my elementary school experience, I was insecure and self-reserved due to all the health issues I was going through. It became worse as I was bullied due to the scar of the operation and how my fingers worked. My classmates would be cruel and would often exclude me from group activities, leaving me feeling alone and unwanted. I also endured challenges at home, and I had to put on a brave face for my younger brothers in these situations. I am the oldest and so I learned I had to be the strong one within the family.

The bullying did not stop until the seventh grade, where I found people who accepted me for who I am. As a result, I started to gain more confidence in myself and my abilities. Entering high school, I was excited and enthusiastic for what this new chapter in my life would bring me. Turns out, my hardships became essential in my life for those same hardships would help me later on. For example, I became more active in my church. I found a channel to reach out to more people similar to me and have a strong support system.

My career goal is to be an occupational therapist. I want to be the inspiration for the children to continue working hard with their therapy and get right back up and continue to live their lives as normal as possible.

This aspiration stems from the doctors and occupational therapists that have done for this for me when I was in need. My hardships have better prepared me to be a leader not only throughout college, but my professional life to follow.

Joselynne Zurita attends Lake Worth Community High School in Lake Worth, Florida. She is in the dual enrollment program, and upon graduation from high school she plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in health sciences at a state university and later pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy.

More than Scholarships

March 16, 2018/in Lady Hereford, News

Foundations don’t seek recognition for the work they do. They are uncomfortable in the spotlight, preferring instead to shine it upon their hard-working nonprofit partners.

But sometimes an event designed to show gratitude to a funder can become much more that. Here at the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, we had a chance to experience this firsthand during the recent Johnson Scholarship Day celebration at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Johnson Scholarship Day gave JSF staff a chance to meet more than 100 students who are recipients of PBA’s Johnson Scholarships. In total there are more than 800 academically talented and service-oriented Johnson Scholars at PBA, a Christian university of about 3,850 students in West Palm Beach, Florida.

This was the second year the university has hosted Johnson Scholarship Day. It was special to JSF for several reasons, but three in particular stood out to us.

First, it was a chance for JSF to get to know the students. During PBA’s Johnson Scholarship Day, we had a chance to enjoy refreshments and sit down with college students, a famously busy lot. They told us about their hometowns and their future plans. They also shared what the scholarship means to them.

Many of them spoke about financial need and how the scholarship helped fill in the gaps in their financial aid. Some said the scholarship gave them encouragement to stay focused on their studies. As Johnson Scholar Primose Lataillade told us, “It teaches us that people believe in us.”

Second, it was a chance for the students to get to know JSF. Our founders, the late Theodore R. and Vivian M. Johnson, came to know PBA through their personal friendship with PBA Founding Board Chairman Dr. Donald Warren.

PBA President William M. B. Fleming Jr. described Mr. Johnson as a remarkable man who loved PBA students. Because of Mr. Johnson’s admiration for the university, PBA has been a grant recipient – one of the Foundation’s largest – since JSF’s inception in 1991.

JSF President and CEO Malcolm Macleod gave the students additional insight into Mr. Johnson, who shared Dr. Warren’s belief that a school like PBA had the potential to slow what many perceived at the time as a moral decline in America. “He felt that this was a great investment in society,” he said.

Third, it was a chance for JSF to see the return on not just one but two of its investments. During the event, we learned that at least one of the students in the room was well acquainted with JSF long before she ever set foot on PBA’s campus.

As a student at Palm Beach Gardens Community High School, this student spent all four years in the Johnson Scholars program, a college readiness program that is a partnership among JSF, the School District of Palm Beach County and Take Stock in Children Palm Beach County. Students who complete the program receive a college scholarship. For this young woman, that scholarship enabled her to continue her studies at PBA.

To us, stories like hers and the others we heard are what Johnson Scholarship Day was really about. We are proud of all of our Johnson Scholars at PBA, as well as those at other colleges, universities and schools throughout Florida, the United States and Canada.

Lady Hereford is a program specialist with the Johnson Scholarship Foundation. She has spent significant time working in journalism and public relations, and she assists the Foundation’s communications efforts as it expands its impact across sectors. More information about the Johnson Scholarship Foundation can be found at www.jsf.bz.

Civil Rights Legacy Shapes Mission at Providence St. Mel

February 16, 2018/in Marci Van Gilder-Rubin, News

In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. moved into an apartment in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood — less than a mile from where Providence St. Mel stands — to protest housing inequality, segregation and poverty in this embattled community. A few short years later, Paul J. Adams III, the founder of Providence St. Mel School, moved from Alabama to that same neighborhood in Chicago to make a difference. Mr. Adams shares that his life’s work and the mission of Providence St. Mel are inspired by the Civil Rights Movement.

Mr. Adams remembers how Dr. King impacted his path as a young man. “In 1955, I met Dr. King. That same year Emmett Till was pulled out of the Tallahatchie River near Money, Mississippi, and Rosa Parks sat down on a bus. At that time, I was the same age as Emmett Till. I remember walking home and feeling the sweat run down my hand thinking that could have been me fished out of that river. The events of that year shaped my life. They set me on my road to whatever I was going to do. There is not a day I wake up that I don’t think about Emmett Till.”

Many of the societal woes that Dr. King protested still strangle this west side Chicago community, yet Providence St. Mel remains a beacon of hope. Since 1978, 100 percent of our students have graduated from high school and have been accepted into four-year colleges and universities. Many students begin their time at Providence St. Mel with significant academic deficits and personal obstacles, but we know that when given high expectations, support and proper instruction, all students can achieve.

Our mission is shaped by the legacy of the Civil Rights movement and the drive to challenge young people to reach their full potential. Mr. Adams notes, “Without a proper education, a person is doomed. If we can provide the right environment, our children will enter these doors and feel free to learn and prosper.”

During his more than 40 years impacting the west side Chicago community, Mr. Adams has received countless awards and recognition for his work improving the community. Most recently, on Feb. 13, he received The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award from The Leaders Network, a collaboration of clergy and community stakeholders in Chicago.

The mission statement of Providence St. Mel that students recite each morning states, “we believe in the creation of inspired lives produced by the miracle of hard work” and “we believe one must earn the right to dream.” The determined students at Providence St. Mel understand that the dreams of the Civil Rights movement must come through determination, hard work and education.

Students recognize the connections between the school’s mission and the importance of honoring Black History by investing in black futures.

“Our school’s mission statement is essentially what Black History means to me,” shares senior Jalen F. “Every morning is a reminder to look at ourselves when we commit to ‘take this place, this time and this people and make a better place, better time and better people.’ You can’t say those words and not think of our ancestors’ sacrifices.”

How AIBL Challenges and Inspires Native Business Students

November 10, 2017/in Larry Gianchetta, News

American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) was organized in January 1994 and was recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization in 1995 on the University of Montana campus in Missoula, Montana. Michelle Henderson (Assiniboine) was a graduate student in the MBA program and wrote her thesis on AIBL. She approached School of Business Administration Dean Dr. Larry Gianchetta to be the chair of her thesis committee. The original idea evolved from concerns expressed by many tribal leaders that recognized the need for business educated and business experienced tribal members to assist with tribal economic development. Michelle became the first executive director of the AIBL organization, and Larry became the faculty advisor to the University of Montana AIBL Chapter.

The mission of AIBL is to increase the representation of American Indians and Alaska Natives in business and entrepreneurial ventures through education and leadership development opportunities.

AIBL’s vision is to become the preeminent national nonprofit organization serving American Indians and Alaska Natives by providing business and entrepreneurship education, leadership development training, and the necessary support to help young men and women who aspire to purse studies and careers in business, entrepreneurship, or related disciplines.

Today, AIBL has student chapters throughout the United States, and the chapters fall into three categories: High School, Tribal Colleges, and Universities. Each of the chapters has a least one faculty advisor. Faculty advisors and student members can go to the AIBL website (www.aibl.org) and click on chapters to find all the resources necessary to organize and run chapter meetings. Each year the primary focus for the student chapters is the Annual Leadership Conference. This year our annual Leadership Conference will be April 26-28 at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona (more details on the conference can be found on the AIBL website).

The Leadership Conference has students going to learning sessions in career development, personal development, networking, etc. Many of the corporate sponsors will be attending the conference and will be available to discuss both internships and career opportunities. We also have many sponsors interested in our AIBL students, representing well-known Indian owned businesses who have both internships and career opportunities for students. Students participate in competitions such as Business Plans and Chapter of the Year. Members of the National Board of Directors are located across the U.S. and come from industry and education. They are dedicated to the mission and vision of AIBL and will all be available at the annual Leadership Conference.

Finally, go the AIBL website and click on conferences. You will see the students involved in all of the activities available to them engaged in life-changing experiences. You will also see the remarkable speakers that come to present at the AIBL conference. A large part of the AIBL experience throughout the academic year is the fundraising students do to pay their way to the conference, as well as preparing to do very well individually and as a chapter in the competitive events. Each year we ask a few of our AIBL alumni to come back to the Leadership Conference and share with the students what impact AIBL has had on their lives. This is always a very powerful experience for our current AIBL students!

If you have any questions, please contact AIBL Executive Director Prairie Bighorn at prairie.bighorn@aibl.org.

Cracks in ‘Talent Pipeline’ Pose Risks for Employers, College Students With Disabilities

October 27, 2017/in Carol Glazer, News

The following previously appeared in the Huffington Post and has been reprinted with permission.

As the leader of a national organization focused on employment for people with disabilities, I routinely have the privilege of visiting places that are doing some remarkable work to advance the issue. My travels of late took me to two notable college campuses: Edinboro University, just outside of Erie, Pennsylvania, which has committed to excellence in accommodations for students with disabilities; and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in upstate New York, which has dedicated itself to helping students with disabilities access jobs upon graduation, better ensuring their long-term economic security.

Frankly, America’s colleges and universities would do well to examine what RIT and other leaders in career services are doing right, because many, if not most, are getting it wrong. Nationally, students with disabilities take twice as long to secure a job after graduation. And of the 1.4 million college students with disabilities, about 60-percent of them can expect to not find a job when they graduate. Talk about a harsh dose of reality for young people who simply want to contribute.

When I talk with employers, which is just about every day, they tell me their inability to hire new graduates with disabilities is not due to a lack of qualified candidates, but rather a lack of access. We at the National Organization on Disability decided to take a closer look at this issue recently, which resulted in a white paper titled Bridging the Employment Gap for Students with Disabilities.

Our research, along with guidance from partners such as Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities and the National Association of Colleges and Employers, resulted in a series of recommendations that colleges and universities can take right now. Chief among them, and it’s one that RIT is executing quite well, is better coordination and communication between each school’s career services and disability offices, which respectively have access to “disability-friendly” employers and job seekers with disabilities. It may seem simple, yet so few schools get this right. At RIT, students engaged in this new model of information sharing report excellent results, with all early participants obtaining employment.

A closer look at this issue reveals that, while as a nation, we have become increasingly proficient at creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities in entry-level positions, employers have yet to build a robust talent pipeline for professional positions. This is a particularly pressing problem for employers looking for candidates with STEM backgrounds. One would think our institutions of higher education would be the ideal place to fill up that pipeline.

However, most professional-level jobs require not only a college degree, but frequently up to five years of work experience. This is a Catch 22 for the majority of all college-educated jobseekers, not just jobseekers with disabilities. But what we’re learning is that these experience requirements may be overly restrictive and are inadvertently screening out graduates with disabilities that could perform well in professional jobs with the right training.

This was underscored in a new study from the Association of American Colleges and Universities, in which employers evaluated students in skill areas such as being innovative, solving complex problems and working with others. Employers did not rank college grads highly in those key categories. Yet, talk with a person who has navigated the streets in a wheelchair for ten years or dealt with the medical establishment on a daily basis, and you’ll find a job candidate who excels in all three areas. Employers should reexamine requirements that might be unnecessarily restrictive – particularly federal contractors who must now seek to satisfy new federal disability employment targets – and potentially gain new sources of inventive and resourceful talent.

This summer, our nation will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ADA. We have taken tremendous strides forward in improving access to employment for people with disabilities. But if we cannot solve the issue of how to connect talented young people with disabilities to meaningful employment, we will have not only wasted an historic opportunity to close this seemingly intractable employment gap, but we will yet again be wasting the talents of people who have much to contribute and deserve the opportunity to participate in the American Dream.

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