16 May

School Year in Review: Career Speakers

Many students in our community often times do not have the resources available to gain exposure from professional role models essential for developing career interests. Through our Stay in School program, we aim to help bridge that gap by coordinating Career Speakers to visit with small groups of Waukegan students. Career Speakers are successful local professionals who demonstrate the value of staying in school and illustrate the direct connection between academics and future success.

We focus our Career Speaker efforts on two specific student groups at Abbott Middle School in Waukegan; Young Ladies of Distinction and Young Men of Vision. These two organizations share the goal of closing the achievement gap by working to increase the amount of students who graduate and progress to their next level of education. This past school year, several volunteer speakers came to visit with these two student groups. Read on to learn more about each Career Speaker.

Young Ladies of Distinction

Carlotta Roman

Training Manager VCI Academy at VW Credit

Carlotta Roman went above and beyond as a Career Speaker. During her visit, she connected with the young ladies (pictured above) and helped them find what inspires them.

Karin Lowery

Chairperson and Second Vice-President & Actuary of Trustmark Companies

Karin Lowery shared her experience working at Trustmark Companies.

Dr. Sherry Pray

Chiropractor at Lake Forest Family Chiro PC

Dr. Sherry Pray shared her experience as a chiropractor. A life size model of the human spine was used so that Dr. Pray could demonstrate her profession in front of the girls.

Cinthya Barrera

Engineering Plant Manager at Procter & Gamble

Cinthya Barrera discussed her experience working at Procter & Gamble as well as her career journey.

Kimberly Taylor Smith

Director of Employee and Community Engagement at AbbVie

Kimberly Taylor Smith spoke about her move to Georgia, and then to New York, all by herself.

Susie Lees

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Allstate

Susie Lees told her personal story of success in front of the group. The message she wanted the girls to take away from her story was on the importance of working hard, being respectful and not letting fear hold them back.

Kenji Kuykendall

Senior Manager, Site Communications & Engagement at Pfizer, Inc.

Kenji Kuykendall spent part of her day with the girls to share her experience working as a senior manager at Pfizer, Inc.

Adilene Dominguez

Becton, Dickinson and Company

Adilene Dominguez shared her personal success story with the Young Ladies of Distinction and encouraged the girls to stay motivated and work hard.

Young Men of Vision

LeBaron Moten

Deputy of Facilities and Support Services for the Waukegan School District

LeBaron Moten spoke to the students about the importance of active listening and how they can respond to information when they take time to process it.

Sum Cunningham

Mayor of Waukegan

Mayor Cunningham met with the student members to talk about leadership. While he was there, he also shared details of the history of Waukegan, the qualities of great leaders and he reminded the students to stay committed to their goals.

Mike Zafirovski

Former President and CEO of Nortel, and former President and COO of Motorola

Mike shared his experience to the group about his big move from Macedonia to the United States and how he experienced adapting to a new environment. He also talked about his involvement with sports and how that shaped him as a leader.

Scott Jones

President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern Regional Medical Center.

Scott Jones spoke to the student members about hard work, goal-setting and the importance of having a positive attitude.

Bob Mayo

President & CEO of Mayo Consulting Group, and Vice Chairman Emeritus of Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Bob Mayo shared the story of his career journey with the students.

Demar Harris

Director of Programs and EEO Officer at Lake County Workforce Development

Demar Harris shared his personal success story to the group. He highlighted the importance to the development of a contingency plan in the working environment. Demar’s new mentee from the group is a young man named Jordan and he is an aspiring entrepreneur.

18 Sep

United Way Days Recap: August – September 2017

by Marketing DepartmentCategories: News

Summer is coming to an end, but that hasn’t stopped the following companies from volunteering their time revitalizing school grounds, supporting local organizations and making the community a cleaner environment. We would like to thank and recognize these companies for encouraging their employees to take time out of their workday to create lasting change in Lake County on our United Way Days recap blog! #VolunteersInAction

O.C. Tanner

On August 14, a group of employees from O.C. Tanner and their families spent the day creating an Early Learning Trail for students at West Elementary School in Zion.

Baxter International – Finance Volunteer Week

To start off Baxter’s volunteer week on August 14, a group of employees went to the Native Seed Nursery at Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve to collect native seeds and assist with weeding seed beds. The seeds that the group collected will be used to restore preserves across Lake County.

A group of Baxter employees spent the afternoon at Captain James A. Lovell Jr. Federal Health Care Center – VA in North Chicago. There the volunteers helped organize games such as Bingo for nursing home veterans on August 14.

On August 15, a group of Baxter employees spent the morning with NorthPointe Resources to help add beauty to a group home where people with disabilities live. Volunteers helped with the general yard work clean-up such as weeding, trimming, and spreading mulch.

Early afternoon on August 15, a group of Baxter employees volunteered to help the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Park City with sorting, labeling and packing items such as frozen meat, oatmeal, produce and more!

A group of Baxter employees went to the south unit of the State Beach Park to assist with a beach cleanup on August 16.

On August 17, another group of Baxter employees volunteered at Northern Illinois Food Bank in Park City. The efforts that the volunteers do will help NIFB to be able to distribute the product to their network partners.

To end Baxter’s volunteer week, a group of employees went to A Safe Place, an emergency shelter, on August 18. Volunteers helped clean and throw out unused items, and also created a more welcoming environment to serve their clients.

United Way of Lake County

On August 21, a group of United Way of Lake County employees put on their LIVE UNITED t-shirts and served as volunteers at the welcome back picnic for the Waukegan Public School District teachers and staff that was held at the Waukegan High School – Washington Campus. They were also joined by volunteers from the Navy and the community.

United Way of Lake County employees served as bilingual volunteers for Catholic Charities’ Christmas Gift Program. The volunteers helped with the intake process and translated the Christmas wishes for the families. The program provides gifts to needy families, children and seniors throughout Lake County by matching the needs of the disadvantaged with individual donors, churches, corporate donors, schools and other donor groups.

Hollister Incorporated

A group of Hollister employees spent their afternoon at Captain James A. Lovell Jr. Federal Health Care Center – VA to help organize Bingo for nursing home veterans on August 24.

ITW – Buehler

On September 14, ITW-Buehler employees volunteered at the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Park City to help organize packaged goods to be sent out to the organization’s network partners.

Tag: Hollister