DDN: Wright State student recognized at Pentagon for role in workforce program

Excerpt

From left: Molly Fore, a human resources specialist with the Air Force Materiel Command’s Personnel Programs Branch; Jason Gepperth, disability and STEM resource specialist in the Office of Disability Service; and Ben Sanders, a human resource management major. (Photo by Erin Pence)

A Wright State University student was honored this week at the Pentagon for his role in the a work recruiting program.

Ben Sanders, a human resource management major and a part of Wright State’s Office of Disability Services, was  recognized by the Air Force for his involvement in the Workforce Recruitment Program, an internship the military, federal government and private sector use to place students with disabilities into meaningful jobs.

“To be the one representative of the Air Force and one of four students selected from across the country for this award is a huge honor,” Sanders, a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base intern, said in a prepared statement.

“There can be challenges for students and individuals with disabilities in finding careers and jobs. This is a really great way to get their foot in the doors, whether it’s just a part-time internship they can put on their resume as a business experience or if it turns into a permanent positions,” he said.

Molly Fore, a human resource specialist with the Air Force Material Command’s Personnel Programs Branch, was acknowledged at the ceremony also. She has worked with the WSU interns.

“There are a lot of great engineering students and computer science majors, and we need those critical fields on base,” said Fore, a Wright State alumna.

Fore said the national recognition is a testament to the success of the program, a 14-week internship paid for by the labor and defense departments.

“I think there has been a lot of increased awareness on base,” she said. “We really hit the ground running and marketing the program, doing town hall meetings, blasting emails out, talking about the benefits of the program.”

Jason Gepperth, disability and STEM resource specialist in the university’s Office of Disability Services, said Wright State supplies the third largest number of recruits in the nation for the Workforce Recruitment Program.

The office helps students prepare resumes, develop interviewing skills, and market themselves.

View the original post at daytondailynews.com

Comments are closed.