Mission of the Bender Leadership Academy

This episode is in memory of Mary Brocker.

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, and with this show today, I am so Fired up and ready to go. I bet you heard that before. That's a trivia question. There's a president that used to say, "Fired up and ready to go." But I know only Scott may know that on the line, but I'll bet millions of you across the United States know, and around the world. I am so happy to have you with us. I think I mentioned several weeks in a row that China, is really getting a bigger listening audience. Of course, there are 16 other countries with listening audiences. And even though in a country like Saudi Arabia, there is only one person, that one person, whoever you are, thank you, and you are making a difference. Wherever you are, whatever country you are in, thank you, thank you. And make sure you spread the news in your country. A special shout-out to my close friend, Richard Roberts. Richard Roberts from Japan, Okinawa, who is soon going to be on our show again. We had Richard, who works with the State Department, on a couple months ago. And by the way, if you want to hear any of these shows, just subscribe to this show on Apple or Spotify, Disability Matters with Joyce Bender, on voiceamerica.com, or go to voiceamerica.com or benderconsult.com. It just may be easier for you on Apple or Spotify because you will then hear the upcoming shows. But if you want to go to benderconsult.com, you could just go right down through here, any of the prior shows such as the one that, as I said, Richard was on, um, with people right there. Oh, it was so awesome with the translator, with the translator in Japan. Now I've got to tell you the big news. You will hear Richard's show that he's arranged for us. You will hear that show again on June 8th. Martindale Hinch and Megumi Kawakami from excuse me, it's Kawakami from Japan. And you know, we've also had, in case you don't know, we've also had Tunisia, but Richard Roberts, I love you with the State Department. He's just a fabulous human being. And I also have to have a shout out to Cheryl Harris from Tunisia and Gang Young from South Korea and Veniamin from Kazakhstan and Ambassador Norland from Libya. I mean, we could go on and on, but wow, these people from the State Department, they are awesome. You know that? They really rock. And of course, all of you in the United States, you are numero uno. Thank you. You know what? Listen, you've got to spread the news to other people. I was talking to Judy Heumann and some other disability rights leaders Marcy Roth and Terry Hartman. And you know, we don't really have a history of where you can go and hear people even like the late Marca. If you're in the disability community, you know that one named Marca. And if you go, you can hear these Oshas. We've got to get these shows somehow, somewhere stored so that all of you— but right now you can hear them. Just go back through all the shows, you'll see them listed. And when I talked about Marga, I can't forget my great friend Yoshiko Dart. Yoshiko, I know you have everyone in Japan spreading the news about that radio show. I know it will be heard there on June 9th, but it will be available to everyone around the world because it's on demand, so they can go back and hear the show again. But You lead on and you get your friends in Japan to lead on, Yoshiko. And I know you, I know you'll stop listening, you'll get on the email, you'll be sending out emails because I know what you're like. And finally, I have to thank Highmark. Oh my goodness, they have been the lead sponsor for years now. They are just Such a wonderful company, and I appreciate their support. Thank you. And here's a little interesting trivia for one of my favorite employees, Scott Hammerstrom, who will soon be talking to us. Uh, he is the manager of programs and partnerships for the Bender Leadership Academy, but he is also— yes, there is one other pirate fan in the United States, and it's Scott. We are the two. We have been diehards for years. We are the two. But Scott, you know that music you heard introducing the show? Did you know that was composed by Gerald Homme, our other employee?

I was aware of that, yes. Oh, you're great, uh, great music.

Yes, great little jazz sound there. But yes, Scott and I, we are the two. There are two, so you know it, there are two Pittsburgh Pirate fans. Yeah, diehard, we are. Every year we're gonna go to the World Series, right, Scott? Now we're a little off this year. A little behind. I don't think we're gonna make it, but I gotta tell you about Scott. I love Scott. He is, I am so blessed to have him as a leader in our enterprise. And I'm going to let you tell everyone, Scott, how you first told me what you hope you can do someday when you started. How many years ago was that?

It was about 15 years ago, Joyce.

15 years ago. 15 years! The Pirates haven't been in the World Series yet, Scott! 15 years ago, and for 15 years, he did great work for us. Also in our vendor consulting services where we find employment for people with disabilities. But Scott, tell them what else you told me when you first joined the company that you, you hoped you could do someday.

Absolutely. So about 15 years ago, I had an opportunity to talk to Joyce, and I was looking for new opportunities, and I have a background in some nonprofit organizations. I worked for the Arthritis Foundation of Western Pennsylvania Pennsylvania and Best Buddies Pennsylvania, and I, and I worked a lot with students with disabilities. So when I had the opportunity to, to talk to Joyce Bender about opportunities within Bender Consulting, I said down the road I would love an opportunity to focus on students or young people with disabilities because that's my passion.

And your passion, here it is, your dream came true. You know, he's very humble. I just want to tell you how this went down, okay? His wife Jen, who I also love, uh, called me and said, hey, you know, would you meet with my husband, uh, and, and, you know, you and your team just help him interview and help him with his resume. We said okay, and then he came in and he never left. We just kept him. So that's what—

that is true. I never interviewed. I just showed up the next day and started working.

Yep.

15 years later, I'm still here.

You have the fastest no-interview hiring. There you go.

So thank you.

Absolutely. Scott, would you, uh, share with our listeners what you do at the Bender Leadership Academy and what is the Bender Leadership Academy, which as you know is so important to me? So go ahead.

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Joyce, and good afternoon everyone. So the Bender Leadership Academy is a nonprofit organization which was started in 2018, and we deliver competency-building programs that enable students with disabilities to engage in educational empowerment and work opportunities. We also celebrate successes and set and achieve career journey goals. And our goal at Bender Leadership Academy is to increase long-term competitive employment Youth with Disabilities. So as you mentioned, I am the manager of programs and partnerships. What does that mean? I help design and implement and coordinate our programs aligning Bender Leadership Academy's mission, and I also help build and maintain relationships with community partners, identify new partners that complement the brand and mission and goals of the Academy, and just to get the word out there about Bender Leadership Leadership Academy.

Yes, and as I said, that is so important to me. Scott, you have— we have many things we work on at the Academy, but how about some of our main programs? And by the way, you can include, of course, when you talk about all of this, Disability Mentoring Day.

Absolutely. So one of the programs that we focus on is called Work Readiness, and what the purpose is, is to prepare students with disabilities for the world of work through a series of activities and employer-based experiences. So we focus on fundamental skills assessments. We talk about dressing for success at work, resume building. We do practice interviews. The students do presentations on public speaking. We work with employers and we do workplace tours, and we'll have speakers come in from the different companies also to talk about students about their company, what they do, and maybe how to, you know, learn how to get a job. That's a wonderful program. We've been doing that for about 8 or 9 years. Another program that we have is I call it certifications, and it is to provide relevant employer-valued credentials in basic computer competency and customer service. So we focus on all self-paced online modules. They can learn about the 4 Microsoft Suite basic functionality certifications. They learn a little bit about soft skills, interviewing skills, workplace expectations, and basic customer service. Concepts. Another program that we are starting, um, we'll be starting this summer is Digital Access at Work, and that is designed to teach digital accessibility understanding and testing skills to students with disabilities. They'll talk about web content accessibility guidelines and digital accessibility testing methodologies and color contrast analyzers and the non-visual desktop access as well. So it's a big, great program that we'll be starting this summer. And then you mentioned, Joyce, Disability Mentoring Day. So this is something that I've been working on for 15 years now with Joyce Bender Consulting, and this program moved over to Bender Leadership Academy last year. But Disability Mentoring Day is a national or international program that that started in the Clinton administration, and I am the regional coordinator for Western Pennsylvania and Delaware. And it's always the third Wednesday of every October, and we provide students insight to the multitude of varying career trajectories in the professional workforce. We promote career development for high school students with disabilities through job shadowing, and hands-on career exploration. Companies will partner with Bender Leadership Academy to host students and inspire them toward future success. And last year we had over 400 high school students with disabilities participate in Western Pennsylvania and Delaware, and we're hoping this year will be bigger and better. And then always 2 days prior to Disability Mentor Day, we always have the a big party, a big reception for all the disability leaders and business leaders here in Western Pennsylvania, the students and the teachers, all to get together and celebrate Disability Mentoring Day. And this year is going to be the same, looking forward to that. And the last program that I wanted to talk to you about, Joyce, was— is our student leader programs, and that's where you'll hear Taylor Kourtney, who were part of the student leaders who participated this school year. And that is to develop public speaking and leadership skills while learning how to represent oneself professionally in the workplace. So they focus on leadership, initiative. We talk about anti-bullying. We do resume building and interviewing skills. They do public speaking each class. students The students have to speak, do a presentation. They do networking, and we have employer connections, workplace tours, and speakers from our employer partners. And that is a wonderful program. We had over 60 students, I believe, participate this school year, which was fantastic.

It is fantastic. And Scott mentioned Delaware. Joyce Bender. This started over 20 years ago. I started doing this on a volunteer basis, the Bender Leadership Academy, and it was, as Scott said, about how to get a job, leadership skills, and how to deal with bullying. And I just want to tell you, these kids with disabilities are bullied more than any other group in America. And you know what? I love every one of them. And you know, this is all about raising the bar, raising the bar, not lowering the bar. So just so you know, these students with disabilities are rock stars and you should hire young people with disabilities because our graduates from that Bender Leadership Academy, hey, I'd put them against any other employee student any day. So with that, actually, we're going to speak to Taylor, uh, Taylor Rogers, who is a 12th grade student and, uh, just a joy to have in our program. And Taylor, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

So Taylor, um, what, what did you you attended the Bender Leadership Academy. But before we do that, tell everyone, where do you go to school, Taylor?

I go to Central Valley High School.

And of course, so you all know that that's in Pennsylvania and in the Beaver area. And Taylor was just so awesome in the classes, and that's why we wanted her to come on the show today. So Taylor, what did you learn from the Bender Leadership Academy?

I think the most important thing that I learned from being a Bender student leader was taking initiative and having the ability to see what needs done and taking action to accomplish it. I learned to also I always work hard and volunteer for new tasks, work extra hours when needed so my tasks get done, get completed on time. Demonstrating initiative shows my capacity to be a leader.

Wow. Look at you. Look at you. You're speaking on the radio around the world. You have come so Far, far. young lady. And that you would start off with initiative, that is awesome. That is awesome. And you certainly have demonstrated that. So Taylor, what did you enjoy the most in the program?

I think my favorite part was getting to meet new people from other school— from other schools, meeting the instructors and the guest speakers. I enjoyed this experience because I learned a lot about being a leader. I liked being able to win gift cards, which was like earning a paycheck for doing a good job. Playing Kahoot at the end of class helped me to reinforce what I learned in class.

Good. That's good. And yeah, what Taylor's talking about is I— we try very hard in the Bender Leadership Academy to teach our students about the world of work. So we actually have these classes on site at a company. So we have, uh, the Beaver Valley School District, uh, at Calgon Carbon. We have Pittsburgh Public School District at, uh, Highmark. We have Fox Chapel High School at Covestro, and where the students from Gateway— that's at Peoples, right, Scott?

Uh, Peoples Gas, correct?

Yes. Yeah. And, um, the whole idea here is going into a company, seeing what the business world is like, uh, you know, and the right attire and how you should Act, and it is— thank you to all the companies in Delaware. It's DXC Technology, and I got to tell you, the teachers— and we will be talking to one— are just the most dedicated, awesome people. So let's move on first to Courtney. And Courtney Sullivan is in the 11th grade. Uh, and what school are you at, Courtney?

I go to Central Valley High School as well.

Okay, well, by the way, it's nice to talk to you and welcome to the show.

Thank you, it's nice talking to you as well.

Okay, well, Courtney, since you went to the Bender Leadership Academy, um, what was the biggest difference that you saw in yourself from, from when you started to when you left?

I believe that I have changed because of what I have learned. Through my leadership skills that I have developed, I will stand up and be counted for. As a leader, I can and do make a difference not only in my life but in others' lives.

That is awesome. And Courtney, what did you enjoy the most?

I like learning new things such as leadership, empowerment, work ethic, success at work, and public speaking. Learning these things gives me more opportunities to communicate well. I gain the knowledge that I will need when seeking employment.

Okay, now you have to— I'm going to see if you two remember all of this, that there's something you do when people give you a hard time. What do you use when you don't want to watch a TV station?

The remote control.

That's it. You change the channel. You change the channel when people are giving you a hard time or telling you, uh, you know, mean things. And for all of you listening to the show, um, Courtney, Do you— don't you believe if there are young people listening to you right now, and maybe they feel that they don't count and they don't matter, don't you think it's important also who they associate with? Yes. Because can't those people have a bad impact on you?

Yeah.

And look at Courtney now. Look, she is so awesome, and she could deal with bullying. She knows how awesome. You know how I make all of you say how awesome you are, and you are all awesome. And Taylor, how about you? Yeah, Miss Taylor Rogers, how have you seen yourself change the most since you left the class? I mean, you know, since you graduated. Like, for example, since you left the Bender Leadership Academy, what is the biggest difference? For example, do you think you're more confident now?

I'm definitely more confident. I feel that being involved as a Bender student leader, I gained more confidence speaking in public. I feel that I can speak in a more professional way. From all the lessons that I have learned, I know that I have the skills to interview for a job and will have the ability to keep a job.

Oh yes, I know you will also. And you know, do you agree with me? What do you think it's like for most of those students when I tell them, "Okay, you have to go up and give that 2-minute speech." Oh, that's—

it's really hard sometimes.

Like scary. But especially at the beginning, right? Before the first time you go up?

Yeah. The first time speaking in front of the class was definitely scary because I've never spoken really in front of people like that. And it was like very just overwhelming.

But you did it.

Yeah, but over time it got easier.

Yeah. And where Courtney? Courtney, I wanted to ask Courtney. How about you, Courtney? How would you describe with all of the students that how they feel the first time they have to go up and speak in front of everyone until they graduate. Because I just want to tell everyone, every single student goes up front in every class and they give a 2-minute speech on such as, uh, how will I show initiative at work, or, uh, how will I deal with bullying, or how will I be more independent, things of that nature. Every class, every single student goes up and they give this speech, no exceptions, because we're all about no pity. And you know what? You will not believe how good they are by the time they— how about you? How would you describe that, Courtney, the difference from the first time a student goes up to the last time?

Well, my first time when I went up, I was very nervous. Um, I could tell the other students were as well because they said they didn't want to go first.

So yeah. And, and you know what, when we were talking earlier about the gift card, here's what that's all about. Do you— can you tell everyone what that's about? Why do you get a gift card?

You get a gift card because You take initiative and you also go first.

That's right. That's right. And see—

Oh, you also answer questions.

And you also answer questions. And what is that all about is, as she just said, all about initiative and participating. See, these are all things you have to do at work. So, if someone shows initiative, they receive a gift card to one of the restaurants. And, uh, the— why do I do that? Because I'm trying to teach you, if you do a good job, you make more money. That's the whole thing we're trying to teach the students. And I'm telling you, Scott, do you agree with me that like they are unbelievable when they speak?

Absolutely. And you can tell the progression from being everybody nervous on class 1 to class 6. They're doing better than most adults when speaking. And not only are they speaking to the teachers and their peers, the students, but there's also executives in these classes as well, or representatives from different Fortune 500 companies, and they're speaking in front of them sometimes. And it's just an amazing transition from beginning of the year to end of the year. And, and just, I'm just in awe of, uh, how great, especially Taylor and Courtney, just did an incredible job this year.

They did. They were incredible. Um, and we're going to be going to our news break, which we have on the half hour Advocacy Matters with Perry Jude Radesik. Uh, Perry, welcome to the show.

Joyce, thanks for having me, and it's been great to hear Taylor and Courtney talk about their experiences.

Yes, well, yeah, and just so you both know, now Perry is the CEO of Disability Rights of Pennsylvania, which I'm so honored to be, uh, on that board. So there's another executive, uh, you know, telling you, telling them what a great job they've done. But before you go over your news, uh, for the week, Perry, you know a lot a lot of students with disabilities fall through the cracks and are not employed as the non-disabled are. And I just wanted to have you mention also how important that is to include them.

Oh, absolutely. The employment of people with disabilities is really one of the most important things we can work on as an organization and individually as advocates. And so it's, it's important to keep applying for jobs. And then there are support systems where individuals with disabilities can go to to get legal advice or to learn more about their rights as an employee with disabilities or a person applying for a job. That has a disability. So there's a whole support system out there to make sure that there is appropriate competitive and integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Which includes high school students with disabilities.

Absolutely includes high school students with disabilities, absolutely.

Yeah, well, Perry, great to hear your voice. And by the way, I hope all of you had a great Memorial Day weekend. But Perry, what news do you have for us today?

Sure, Joyce Bender. I want to talk about the American Rescue Plan again, but this time a specific section in the American Rescue Plan, because here's why it's so important. There is now additional federal money for home and community-based services available to all states through the American Rescue Plan. Now, we remember that the American Rescue Plan was the most recent COVID relief bill passed by Congress, and President Biden signed the law on March 11th. So, there are many sections to the law, but our focus today is on Section 98-17, 98-17 of the American Rescue Plan. If you want to read it, go to our website at disabilityrightspa.org and you can click on the text of the American Rescue Plan. Be sure to go to Section 98-17. So this section provides states with an opportunity to get additional financial support for Medicaid-funded Home and Community-Based Services. And in particular, what it does is it will give states an additional 10% match to state funding. It's called FMAP, or Federal Medical Assistance Percentage. So it increases Home and Community-Based Services money by 10%. This is a, a great step forward and really provides the states with a lot of money. So to receive this increased percentage, this FMAP, the states have to be eligible, but there's only two requirements. One, the states have to use the funds to supplement what's already going on with their home and community-based spending. Not use it instead of, but do more with it. The second thing is the state has to implement or supplement one or more activities to enhance, expand, or strengthen home and community-based services. That's really important. You can't just use the money to do what you're currently doing. Because of COVID there has been some concerns about the state of home and community-based services and how we can build capacity. And so, this money could go for capacity-building activities, or more rebalancing in the system out of nursing homes and into homes. Now states have until mid-July to submit their home and community-based services spending plans to CMS. That's the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services. Here in Pennsylvania, we could receive up to $729 million more dollars, but the state has to submit its plan. Advocacy matters. Advocates ought to watch for opportunities to comment on their state plans for home and community-based services under this American Rescue Plan. So if you want to know what your state might get and if you want to follow this, go to disabilityrightsPA.org. There's a policy brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation, guidance from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, state services, all important information to keep track of what's happening in your state.

Oh, that is awesome. Once again, where do our listeners go to hear more about that, read about that?

Joyce, they go to disabilityrightspa.org.

And then they go to Advocacy Matters.

Then they go to Advocacy Matters. It's on the home page. Just scroll down the homepage and you'll find today's link.

Great. Well, Perry, thank you so much. Uh, we love how you keep everyone in the news knowing what's going on in our community. I will look forward to talking to you again soon.

Thank you, and congratulations to all the students.

Thank you. Well, with that, we are going to go to break And after we go to break, we will be back with Taylor Rogers, Courtney Sullivan, Ms. Maryann Castellic, and Scott Hammerstrom, the manager of programs and partnerships from the Bender Leadership Academy. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters at voiceamerica.com. We'll be right back. Don't go away. News, opinion, passion. Can you hear me?

Your voice counts. Call toll-free 1-866-472-5787. 1-866-472-5787. voiceamerica.com. At Highmark, we believe what makes us different makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster diversity skills which complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition by the USBLN and the American Association of People with Disabilities as a 2014 Disability Equality Index Best Place to Work. So we'll continue to celebrate diverse individuals because inclusion benefits us all. To find out more, visit highmark.com. Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, with private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender services include disability employment consulting, training in technology accessibility, through their high-test line of service. For more information, please visit www.benderconsult.com. The internet's number one talk station. Number one talk station. VoiceAmerica.com.

You're listening to Disability Matters. If you have a question or comment, Call in toll-free at 1-866-472-5788. That's 1-866-472-5788. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Hi, welcome back everyone. We're talking today about the Bender Leadership Academy, and that includes two graduates who are awesome, Taylor Rogers and Courtney Sullivan. 2 awesome students with disabilities and the transition coordinator, Mary Ann Kostelic and Scott Hammerstrom, the manager of programs and partnerships from our own Bender Leadership Academy. So I have not yet talked to the wonderful Miss Kostelic, uh, who is just the most awesome, uh, dedicated person. She's a transition coordinator, but of course to me a student— so I mean a teacher. So Miss Kostelich, welcome to the show.

Thank you, Joyce Bender.

So Miss Kostelich, I'm sure you've seen changes in all of the students, uh, Courtney and Taylor being example. Over the years as they graduated from the Bender Leadership Academy, what would you say are some of the biggest areas of growth after they graduate?

Well, I think the girls touched on it, Joyce, already about being nervous. And, you know, they were nervous because public speaking was involved in this class, along with meeting students from other districts. But as the program goes on, I see a willingness to participate by not being afraid to answer questions. They make comments. They offer their opinions, which is great. And I can tell from watching their eyes as you're speaking, or Scott, or any of the guest hosts, that they're just absorbing all this information that you're discussing during the lessons. And I see their comfort level increases, and them volunteering to go first on assignments or speeches. And I think the other thing that I see I see growth in is they're encouraging other students from other schools to be comfortable in the class with these students. And they're excited. I see their confidence is growing. And the most important to me is their pride. They have self-pride now.

That's right. Yes. Yeah, I agree with you. And you know very well the beginning to the end, how many high school students with disabilities that we see blossom and actually change, and sometimes even their families talk about how they've changed and gained so much confidence and, as you said, self-esteem. Would you agree with that, Ms. Castelli?

Absolutely, absolutely.

And I, I wanted to talk just for a minute because we talk a lot in these classes about bullying. And as I said, high school and middle school students with disabilities, grade school, are bullied more than any other kids, any students in America. And if you're listening to the show, especially if you're a parent, you got to be getting it together with these— watching the friends, watching social media. And for the students, I tell them, don't listen, block people if they're, you know, giving you a hard time. But most importantly, you can't let that control you. You know, it's you, it's you, you, you young people, it's all about you. You, not what other people say about you. And I, I can't stress to you enough how wonderful these young people are. But Scott, just one minute. Of course, the way people look at people, all people with disabilities, when they do not want to hire them, where they do lower the bar, is because of stigma. And I wondered if you would take a minute to talk about our Slaughter Stigma campaign.

Yeah, absolutely, Joyce. And so Slaughter Stigma is one of the, another program that we do have at the Leadership Academy. And you are very good friends with Karen Slaughter, who is a best-selling mystery author. She's sold millions and millions of books. And you two got together and partnered with each other to bring awareness and propose action to end stigma of all people, including people with disabilities. And then if you go to our website, which is benderleadership.org, so you can learn all about our program. But you can also take the father Stigma Pledge. And what it is is we want to create a better world through our words and our actions. And we're not going to stop until stigma no longer creates barriers to opportunity and inclusion. So you go on there, you take this pledge. It will take you less than a minute to do. And that just helps get the word out there about this. And it's— and we need this. And it's a great program. And we We have a lot of students and other people who have taken that pledge. And like I said, you just go to our website, benderleadership.org.

And as Scott said, Karen Slaughter— as a matter of fact, a movie is coming out soon on Netflix, Pieces of Her, which is one of her books. But she's like a crime thriller author, and just the most wonderful person. The main character, who is the protagonist who catches the bad guys, is living with dyslexia. Will Trent. And that is so impressive to me that she would have this profiler as a person with a disability, the good guy. Well, we became friends over 10 years ago. And one day I'm sitting there, I'm thinking, stigma, slaughter stigma. I wonder if Karen will let us use that and go, you know, go into this with us. And if you go to benderleadership.org, you will see Karen Slaughter talking about this. And you've got to take that slaughter stigma pledge, and you've got to tell ev— everyone you know to take the Slaughter Stigma Pledge. If you care about these young people with disabilities dealing with bullying, dealing with people that lower the bar, you've got to go do it. Slaughter Stigma Pledge. And one other thing, my very close friend that many of you may know, Linda Dickerson, passed away And it was devastating for me when this happened last year because Linda and I were friends for such a long time. Brilliant woman on the board of Carnegie Mellon, chair of the Pittsburgh Ballet, chair of the National Aviary, so many things. And I just absolutely loved her. She had a significant, very significant disability. So when she passed away, I said, you know what, we're going to have a scholarship fund called the Linda Dickerson Scholarship Fund. So Scott, would you mind sharing that, telling that story to everyone what that is?

Absolutely. So we started this Linda Dickerson Scholarship last October. For our program Disability Mentoring Day. So people, students who participated in Disability Mentoring Day, they were eligible to, I think they had to fill out an application with an essay question and they sent it in. And we gave 3 scholarships away of $500. And then the word got around and Highmark heard about this and, and they were fantastic, so we're going to match that. And so the 3 students who won last year received a $1,000 scholarship. And this is money that you can use for— well, not everybody goes to college or universities, so you could do it for trade schools or even for employment if you need to. You get dress clothes or work or a laptop, whatever you need that money to help you with employment and bettering yourself. That's what you can use that for. And it went fantastic. So this year we have expanded that, so we are going to give up to 10 scholarships of $1,000. That's a lot of money. And any student who participate— participates in any of our Bender Leadership Academy, so it could be the Work Readiness Program or Student Leaders Program, Disability Mentoring Day, certifications program, any one of those students would be eligible for that. And then we are going to announce the winners— they'll be announced earlier, but that we're going to announce them at our Disability Mentoring Day reception in October in front of 150-200 people who are going to be in attendance. And there's going to be business leaders there and community leaders, disability leaders, and we'll announce the names and the winners at that time as well. But we're so excited that we're expanding this and to give up to 10 scholarships this year.

Yeah, that is so exciting. That is so exciting. And listen, benderleadership.org, if you're listening to the show, when you make that Slaughter Stigma pledge, please make a donation go to our website to the donate button because everything helps. I don't care what it is, everything helps. And we are 100% behind these young people living with disabilities who are sometimes brutally bullied and left out of the world of work. And thank goodness we have these great students. So, Miss Kostelic, uh, what do you think about about the public speaking skills of your students?

Well, I think that this is probably the one area that we see the most improvement over the classes that they attend. In the beginning, they're nervous, they're unsure of themselves, but after participating in Bender Leadership, they become more aware of what's expected in public speaking, I think, and they develop their own strategies to even overcome the anxiety of public speaking. And I see that their apprehensive levels, they lessen as the classes go on. And I think that they shine during this program, and it transfers over to a typical school day for them. They have much more confidence, and a lot comes from having to present these speeches publicly.

Yes, I will say the more that you develop good communication skills, the better chance you have not only to gain employment, but to move up in the company. Because trust me, there are millions of business people in America that would not want to get up and do this public speaking the way these, uh, high school students do. And as Scott mentioned, in 1999 is the year I received the President's Award at the White House from President Clinton. And that's when I met Jonathan Young because he was handling disability issues and worked at the White House for the president. And one day he called me and he said, "You know what, Joyce, we need a day. We need a day." a national day that would be for our community. And so he came up with Disability Mentoring Day, and we were— we and my group in Delaware were the first to participate in Disability Mentoring Day other than D.C. And of of course, the White House. And now it has so taken off over the years. Scott, how many people participated again in Disability Students?

Last year we had over 400 high school students participate in about 5 different counties in Western Pennsylvania and plus the city of Pittsburgh.

And what they do is they go to companies and job shadow from maybe like 9 to 1 or something of that nature, and they have been assigned mentors. And it is the most wonderful program, it really is. And how many companies did you say? And by the way, this was in the Pittsburgh region.

Well, uh, Yes, we had probably over 25 companies who participate. So, not only do you get the mentoring, you get to learn a little bit about the company. You know, if you think of a bank, you just think of a bank teller, but there's so many other types of positions and things that the banks do that students get to learn that, you know, sometimes you never knew about. So, it's a wonderful opportunity. We work with a lot of science companies. Companies, and they do a lot of science experiments as well to get students interested in STEM as well. It's just an incredible experience for the students to participate in this.

I want to tell you how wonderful people are in the community. We have, as Scott said— well, first of all, Disability Mentoring Day is the third Wednesday every October. October. Every October is Disability Mentoring Day, that third Wednesday. But on the Monday of that week, we have an event at the Hines History Center where we have these great students speak, and it is just beautiful. And we have students and we have business people and we have AAPD, who, by the way, AAPD She is the national coordinator, and as you know, Ted Kennedy Jr. is the chair and I'm the vice chair, and Maria Town is our CEO. And so Maria comes and our county executive comes, and sometimes the Senator Casey comes, and we always have a speaker, a very well-known speaker from D.C. to come up here and speak, or elsewhere in the United States, on disability issues, and it's someone very prominent nationally. And how amazing it is how companies sponsor that. Isn't that right, Scott?

Absolutely. And the highlight, as you mentioned, were always the student speakers. We have 4 or 5 speakers each year, some of them from our student leaders class, and they will come up and speak. And again, that is everything that we hear as far as feedback is about the speakers, the student speakers. And then last year we had a gentleman who did our whole continuum of service from Disability Mentoring Day, our student leaders program, he participated in our work readiness program. Then he went off to college and got an engineering degree and then came back because he has a disability and was having a tough time finding employment. Then he went to Bender Consulting and we were able to find him employment. Then he did a great job and just got hired by FedEx. So we're very proud of Dominick for that. He is a success story. Joyce, if you want to share a bit little more about Dominic, but that was, that was, uh, um, like, he— we knew him from— he was a junior in high school, I believe.

Oh yes, and he stayed in touch with me from that date on. And Dominic Nichols, you are awesome. And we have had so many wonderful, uh, students over the years from different schools, from Caitlin Lohr to Gwen, uh, Jackson to a Olivia Stevenson to, oh my goodness, Stacy Forrest. I can't even remember all the people that have been speakers or Sam Miller Award winners, who's a young friend of mine that died by bully side. And we honor him by giving an award to a student that really stands up as a leader for other students. That are going through this same thing. But I know we're coming to the end of the show. Scott, do you want to give a shout out to your other two teammates that work with you?

I do. I do. I want to say thank you and shout out to Carol Ross, and I believe who is listening, and Bonnie Rubin. These two are so passionate about our Vendor Leadership Academy and the program and the students, and they do an incredible job. And so thank you guys, and we're looking forward to expanding our programs and getting more students with disabilities as we move forward in the next year.

All right, thank you everyone. And we end every show with a quote, and today that quote is: Education of the The most powerful— is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, said Nelson Mandela. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Hey, see you next week with Japan. Talk to you then.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific Time and 2 PM Eastern Time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.