Disability Mentoring Day, Oct. 19, 2005

Scott Bellman, DO-IT staff
Group Picture of Teachers and Mentors.
2006 teachers and mentors at the Federal Aviation Administration. Front row on the left is FAA employee and DO-IT '98 Scholar, Marissa

This year, 64 people in the Seattle area participated in Disability Mentoring Day (DMD). As part of DMD they visited employers to hear about the companies and to meet with mentors to learn about their careers. Participants, included nine college students, fifty-three high school students, and two job seekers with disabilities. They visited employers with diverse characteristics, including:

  • Boeing
  • University of Washington
  • the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
  • the National Oceanographic and Atmoshperic Administration
  • Children's Hospital
  • North Seattle Community College
  • the Transportation Safety Administration
  • the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • Microsoft

One of the teachers involved in DMD shared these comments when reflecting on her students' experiences:

"Our DMD Field Trip to the FAA was beneficial to all of my students. The primary benefit was that the students were able to see other disabled persons, not only at work, but at important jobs using a variety of skills and technology! The next benefit was that they were able to understand that many large employers have a number of careers available and that there are many options for them."