Post by Disability:IN

Each year, one of our favorite conference moments is watching members of our NextGen Leaders Program get matched and network with our Corporate Partner network through NextGen Matchmaking.   Learn more in this video as our Senior Director of NextGen, Michelle Alford-Williams, and NextGen Associate, Alyse Erickson, take you behind the scenes of the matchmaking experience through the years.   If you are a Corporate Partner interested in participating in this year’s matchmaking session, reach out to [email protected] to learn more.   [VD: Michelle and Alyse appear on a recorded video in their home offices. Michelle is in a teal shirt and wears glasses. Alyse has her dark hair in a bun and wears glasses and a black dress. After their introductions, the different clips of NextGen matchmaking appear on the screen with two to three people at small circular tables talking and signing to each other.]   Transcript: Michelle: My name is Michelle Alford-Williams. I have the honor here of being a Senior Director at NexGen leaders for disability:IN.    Alyse: Hi my name is Alyse Erickson I am the NextGen associate here at Disability:IN    Michelle: Matchmaking a conference an opportunity for our corporate partners to be matched or aligned with up to five NextGen leaders who are at conference.    Alyse: This is 15 minutes. Hey how are you? Let me tell you about our company and what our company does. Great let me tell you about who I am as a candidate and when I bring to the table. I was a NextGen leader in 2017. I remember participating as a NextGen but the thing that struck me most was the feeling of community. I think building those relationships that’s my favorite thing to see among NextGen each year.    Michelle: One of our NextGen was talking to a corporate partner and they said well you don’t have this skill we're looking for that skill and because they knew one of the other NextGen there at the conference had that skill they went and got the other NexGen and brought them to the corporate partner saying I don’t have the skill but she does. It’s such an accepting environment that they learned that there can be environment like that. Every year we see students come in who are like I’m never going to be employed. No one‘s ever going to hire me To going away going I feel like now I can accomplish things.   Alyse: I think disabled people are the most innovative people on the planet. I think that their inherent adaptability in our community and that’s something that the disability community really brings to businesses.   Michelle: My favorite part is to watch them actually getting excited about a company they had no idea about the company. They get excited about a student or NextGen leader that their life father this young person is just phenomenal.

Video Content