FORD MOTOR COMPANY SPONSORS CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

Sixty-six students participated in career development workshops at Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Wayne State University and a combined workshop for Henry Ford Community College and UM-Dearborn. Sessions were optimized to meet the individual needs at each school, but were generally about three hours in length in the late afternoon or early evening. The sessions were highly interactive with student dialogue on workshop expectations, learning from previous work experiences, employer fears and disclosure. Students were enrolled in a range of programs, from vocational programs at Henry Ford Community College through master’s degree students, including business and engineering students.

The workshops were led by Kathy McCreedy and Cathy McAdam, both with DiverseAbility. Ford employees Steve Lyons, John Lapetz and Joe Cueter contributed significantly to the programs, communicating Ford’s commitment to becoming the best employer for people with disabilities and sharing their personal perspectives of what is important to succeeding with a disability.

Student feedback was very positive as evidenced by students lingering after the workshops for further discussions, as well as the formal workshop evaluations.

How helpful to you was the material presented in this workshop?

48 responses - 88% rated the material very or extremely helpful
Not helpful - 0 responses
Somewhat helpful - 2 responses
Fairly helpful - 4 responses
Very helpful - 18 responses
Extremely helpful - 24 responses

How effective were the presenters in presenting the material?

46 responses - 91% rated the presenters very or extremely helpful
Not helpfu - 0 responses
Somewhat helpful - 1 response
Fairly helpful - 3 responses
Very helpful- 14 responses
Extremely helpful- 28 responses

For additional information, contact Kathy McCreedy, President, DiverseAbility.

POSITIVE STUDENT FEEDBACK

The workshop was extremely helpful (5 for each question)! It gave me a lot of confidence and answered my questions concerning disclosure. I liked the way you personalized the presentation to everyone's goals. Secondly, the workshop made me think about the hiring process from an employers perspective, especially the timing aspect (when do I follow-up and how?) .
Thanks for this presentation and a tremendous thanks for arranging for me to interview D.G. at Sparrow Hospital. That experience opened a whole new world to me.
Since I have a psychiatric disability and ADD, I would be interested in learning how other similarly disabled students cope with their course load. I’ve never been in a group of other handicapped persons. I’ve lived in almost total isolation. It was exciting to me.
Very informative. I appreciated the fact that you specifically outlined what the ADA does and does not cover.