Monday, October 25, 2010
Exeter, PA – Pride Mobility Products Corporation and Quantum Rehab recently offered 10 students with disabilities an opportunity to be mentored by career professionals in the various fields at Pride and Quantum during the Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) on Wednesday, October 20 at Pride’s Exeter facility. Attendees also included Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 Specialists and Learning Support Teachers, as well as observers from Marywood University’s Career Services Department.
DMD is designed to bring students and job seekers with disabilities into the workplace through hands-on career exploration, on-site job shadowing, and ongoing mentoring leading to internship and employment opportunities. Through Pride and Quantum’s DMD, participants were welcomed with opening remarks from Chairman & CEO Scott Meuser and had the opportunity to meet with professionals to learn the typical job responsibilities and the necessary knowledge and skills needed for a specific vocation. Careers in research and development, marketing, education, reimbursement, government affairs, sales, and technical service were highlighted. The event also included a continental breakfast and lunch.
“As with all young people, it’s important that we foster the fullest potentials of those with disabilities toward higher education and rewarding career paths,” says Mark E. Smith, Pride Consumer Research Manager. “For many young people with disabilities, their potentials truly are limitless, and by increasing their awareness of career possibilities through such events as Disability Mentoring Day, we ideally not only inspire their outlooks, but place them on an ultimate path that will impact the lives of many through great careers.”
Justin Warman, a participant from GAR Junior/Senior High School, was impressed by how many career options there are at Pride. “There are a lot of things I like about Pride, but I think the major thing is the company is so diverse,” Warman said. “You can do so many things in just one company.”
Elaine Coburn, Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 Transition Specialist, said both she and her colleagues were extremely impressed with Pride’s product innovations and professional atmosphere. “The teachers and students were buzzing about the experience on the way home,” said Coburn. “Everyone had a very enjoyable and enlightening day. We look forward to working with Pride again in the future.”
Hosted by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the largest national cross-disability membership organization in the United States, DMD connects nearly 20,000 job-seekers with disabilities with thousands of employers in more than 300 locations in every U.S. State and Territory and in more than 24 countries worldwide each year. To find out more about DMD, please visit their website, http://www.dmd-aapd.org.
Pride Mobility Products® Corporation is the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of mobility products including Jazzy® Power Chairs, Pride® Scooters, Pride® Lift Chairs, and Pride® Silver Star Lifts and Ramps. Quantum® Rehab, a division of Pride Mobility, manufactures innovative, complex rehab solutions. The company, headquartered in Exeter, Pa., also has operations in Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Pride Mobility is dedicated to providing expertly designed, engineered, and tested products incorporating technologically innovative, intelligent features enabling end-users to achieve their mobility goals.
