How many of you remember this poster? Hopefully most of you don’t because it was used primarily during WWI and WWII for army recruiting purposes. If my graphic art skills were better, I would replace Uncle Sam with our T3 logo and make the same appeal to all of you.
We have several opportunities we want to make you aware of where your expertise can play a major role in moving us closer to achieving our mission. Each of these opportunities will require some time commitment on your part, but the rewards are many and the impact is limitless. Here are the serving opportunities in no order of importance.
College and University Career Fairs – We began attending fairs last school year and found them to be very effective in informing students about T3 and providing us with feedback about how T3 can be more relevant to today’s student. Just an hour or two out of your day to host a table with someone from the NTC staff will ensure that we can meet our goal of having a presence at as many fairs as possible during the 2009 – 2010 school year. Please contact Sara Carter at 615-743-3151 or scarter@technologycouncil.com.
Guest Speaker Series – Getting you in front of post secondary school students is incredibly important in bringing real world relevance to academia. We began matching up speakers with university curriculum and professors last year and would like to expand the program during this school year. Please consider volunteering to be a part of our speaker series to bring your passion and expertise to the classroom. Contact Sara Carter at 615-743-3151 or scarter@technologycouncil.com.
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Career Exploration Fair – T3’s mission includes exposing students at an early stage (e.g. middle school through high school) to the exciting careers that await them in technology. Metro Schools is sponsoring its first Freshman Career Exploration Fair, on November 6, at the Nashville Convention Center. 4,000 freshmen will be exposed to over 100 booths hosted by company representatives with the purpose of helping students select a Career Academy which is the new real world approach to high school teaching adopted for this school year. We need companies, like yours, to host booths and educate students on what it takes to be successful, on the job. Please contact Jessica Smith, at Caterpillar Financial, at 615-341-1166 or Jessica.Smith@Cat.com, if you’re interested in hosting a booth.
Williamson County Schools (WCS) Career Fair – Williamson County Schools is sponsoring a career fair for its 2,500 8th graders, on November 19, at the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Park. WCS’s goals are much like Metro’s fair goals. Companies are being recruited to host tables. Please contact Rebecca Collins, at 615-472-4063 or rebeccac@wcs.edu, if you’re willing to participate.
MNPS Career Mentoring Program – As part of the new Career Academy framework, PENCIL, a local non profit that links community resources to MNPS, has developed a program to provide adult professionals mentoring to 9th grade students. Initially, the goal is to match 100 adult volunteers with 300 students (starting either in October or January) to provide career and personal development. The volunteer will spend 30 minutes to 1 hour a week for 12 weeks with 3 students as well as host the students in their workplace one day for job shadowing. This is a great opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of students. Contact Suzanne Warner, at 615-242-3167, ext. 225 or swarner@pencilfd.org, if you’re interested.
T3 will achieve its mission only if the business and academic communities are willing to commit personal time to get engaged in the connection process. We hope at least one of the opportunities presented above peaks your interest. Your commitment will be greatly appreciated by T3, but more importantly by the students you impact.
Regards,
Kent Fourman             David Houghton
CIO Permanent           General  Principal, CIO Services, North Highland Company
