Dallas FULL ACCESS Student Summit Summary
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A FULL ACCESS Student Summit was held in Dallas, Texas November 7 & 8, 2009. This Summit was graciously sponsored by Walmart, Inc. and the AT&T Foundation. Additional employers to participate were American Airlines, Bank of America, Dow Chemical, Frito Lay, the Internal Revenue Service, Microsoft, and Shell Oil. Forty seven students represented 15 colleges and universities while attending the Summit. Virtually all 47 students took advantage of the resume critiques that were offered during the registration hour.
The Summit officially began with a luncheon which featured our Keynote Speaker, Victoria Maxwell. Victoria is an acclaimed actress from British Columbia who shared her story of mental illness and presented her one woman show entitled, “Crazy for Life.” Students later had an opportunity to hear presentations on disclosure skills, requesting accommodations, how to transition into the world of work and resources available to them such as Career Gateway. Our dinner program included a dining etiquette training by Mary Jean Billingsley from Kansas City followed by brief words from U.S Paralympic athlete, Elitsa Storey who is sponsored by AT&T. Students and employers alike then enjoyed a relaxing and fun portion of the Summit known as the “Walmart Wii Networking Event.” Refreshments and several Wii games were set-up for the enjoyment of everyone…it was a big hit!
The second day of the Summit, as usual, proved to be beneficial for everyone. Two, one hour small group sessions were offered, and students were paired with employers they had ranked in order of their interest. Employers had up to 6 students in each group. The conversation was informal, informational and insightful with the goal of both students and employers coming away with more than they knew at the beginning of the day. After these sessions, a brief wrap-up concluded the Summit.
COSD has employed several methods to stay in touch with these students and employers. It is our goal that relationships are built as a result of the Summit experience.