WorkAbility IV

10/03/2022

Angelina Garcia is currently attending CSUSB, majoring in Sociology and after graduation in Spring 2021, she plans to continue her education to become a Social Worker. Currently, Angelina is gaining valuable experience interning as a Warm-Line Bilingual Counselor with Mental Health America in San Francisco. Her favorite part of her internship is listening and providing advice to callers experiencing mental health challenges.

WorkAbility IV provided Angelina with vocational counseling; résumé and mock interview assistance, and employment readiness workshops that prepared her for her internship. Angelina continues to participate in the WorkAbility IV program by attending workshops like the “Essential Skills for Finding, Getting and Keeping a Job” and “Disclosing Your Disability in the Workplace”. Angelina credits the WorkAbility IV staff for continually supporting and encouraging her during remote operations due to COVID-19.

A few words of advice from Angelina, “Take all of WorkAbility’s resources, attend workshops, and work with your WorkAbility IV counselor. They will help you navigate employment and internships, and of course, never give up!”

06/14/2021

Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger Join PVH Corporation in The Valuable 500 Pledge

This article discusses how clothing companies in the PVH (Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation) are working toward a higher commitment to inclusion and diversity in the workplace. The Valuable 500 is a global movement working to get 500 of the world's largest businesses to commit to placing disability inclusion on their business leadership agendas. Click on the link below to find out about the other two important actions that corporations agree to take.

PVH.com (July 29, 2020) Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger Join PVH Corp. in The Valuable 500 Pledge
https://www.pvh.com/news/valuable-500-pledge

Tommy Adaptive. Inclusive design, fashion for all. Shop Tommy Hilfiger apparel for men, women and kids featuring closures thoughtfully designed for ease of movement and to make dressing easier than ever. Free shipping on U.S orders over $100.

05/19/2021

Anthony Roach graduated from CSUSB with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies in June 2017 and a Master of Science in Special Education in June 2020. He is currently working as a guest teacher at Desert Sands Unified School District. Anthony continues to develop his teaching style and obtain more hands-on experience working with special education students at his current job.
WorkAbility IV (WA-IV) provided Anthony with vocational counseling: résumé and mock interview assistance, and employment readiness workshops that prepared him for his career. The workshop that was his favorite that he learned the most from was the Disclosing Your Disability in the Workplace. Anthony learned about resources and how to approach his supervisor and human resources department for his personalized accommodations. Anthony also attended the Palm Desert Campus Job Placement Circle where he practiced his interview techniques and received feedback on how to improve his interview skills.
A few words of advice from Anthony, “No matter how frustrated you get in school, always keep going. Look at the resources given on campus and get assistance. It took me 7 years to achieve my goal and with follow through and not giving up, I am now teaching in the Coachella Valley.”

02/19/2021

Attention WorkAbility IV Participants!

Our WorkAbility IV COOP member, April Lane MPH CHES, Graduate Resource Specialist for Graduate Studies at CSUSB, will facilitate a “Wellness Toolkit Workshop” for students next Tuesday, February 23, 2021 from 4 PM to 5 PM. Please let me know if you plan to attend.
Here is the link to the invitation: https://www.csusb.edu/event/539097 . The Zoom link is on the page.

If students have questions please contact [email protected] who is hosting the event.

12/17/2020

How to be successful in a Virtual Interview
In pre-COVID-19 times, applying for a job was daunting. Due to the current pandemic, everything is done in a virtual environment. Whether applying for a position in academia or the corporate environment, here are a few tips to bear in mind when taking part in a virtual interview.

Dress for success! It is important to impress the committee or employer by being professional, taking the interview seriously, and ensuring you are a good fit. Dressing as if you have the position is a good indicator that you want to be a potential colleague.
Be enthusiastic! Willingness to share your past experiences and what you can contribute to the institution or company conveys enthusiasm.

Be prepared to interview and ask questions. Invest time and knowledge into learning about the institution or company you want to work for. A potential question could be “why do you want to work here?”. Make sure you do your research as you can base your answers on the investigation you conducted. Additionally, you will be asked “Do you have any questions for us?” and be sure to prepare a few.

When the interview is over, send a courtesy email thanking them for the opportunity to interview and expressing the reasons that you would like to be part of the company.

Source:
Three recommendations for a successful virtual job interview (opinion) | Inside Higher Ed. (n.d.).

You must control what you can control in a job interview, writes Bertin M. Louis Jr., and he offers three recommendations for how to do that successfully.

12/08/2020

Tech Article: Accessible Phone Apps

In today’s digital world, Services to Students with Disabilities is always researching new technological developments beneficial for our students. These four phone apps help with everyday life and are accessible to anyone with an iPhone or Smart Phone.

The Ava phone app generates instant autogenerated captions for individuals that are deaf/hard- of-hearing. This app is 95% accurate based on its artificial intelligence and can be used anywhere (Ava: Best Live Captions for All Conversations, 2020). Ava works by downloading the app to your phone and when opening it, you can press the icon of a mic to listen to conversations near you. This feature is great for 1:1 conversation with a restaurant server, a classmate, or even a lecture. For group conversations, you can swipe right and look at the list of contacts you have on the app. For example, in a group meeting with your classmates, they can start up their Ava app and converse with you via instant captioning. The app uses different colors to represent different speakers, making to easier to follow along. The app also includes a “Discover” tab that can help you learn the best way to set up Ava for any conversation. This app is great for those who need 24/7 real-time captioning.

The second app is the Petralex phone app an amplification aid for those with hearing loss. This phone app is not your normal app that brings up the volume, there is more customization to it (Petralex Hearing Aid App, 2020). Of course, you can amplify the sound to three times louder than normal, but you can also correct hearing conditions for both ears. The app is quite intelligent as it can get rid of static noises in the background of your environment. When you first open the app, it comes with a built-in hearing test so you can adjust the volume to both ears through specific rhythm. The creators of the app want every user to feel 100% comfortable using Petralex, so they created a built in 4-week adaptive course to learn how to utilize the phone app to its fullest potential. This app is recommended for those who need a no cost hearing amplification system.

The third app is the Wheelmap app. The Wheelmap phone app is the Yelp for people who use wheelchairs. The phone app allows you to find local wheelchair accessible restaurants, cafes, restrooms, shops, parking lots, bus stops and more (Wheelmap, 2020). The app also allows you to rate the location and give a quick icon description of the accessibility of the location. You can describe the location as fully wheelchair accessible, partially wheelchair accessible, not wheelchair accessible, or unknown accessibility. This phone app is growing and has ratings for over 2 million places. This app is worldwide, so if you travel you can still trust the app to help you. Wheelmap is great phone app for those who like to find out ahead of time if the location they are going to is accessible.

Lastly, the Be My Eyes app connects blind and vision impaired people with sighted volunteers for visual assistance. This app connects volunteers with persons needing sight assistance such as matching outfits and picking out clothes, reading product labels, navigating TV or game menus, operating vending machines, or kitchen appliances (Eyes, 2014). As someone who needs support, you can download the app and connect your screen reader. When you need quick help, press the button on the app and you will be facetimed with a volunteer. As a volunteer you can create an account and be ready to answer a call at any time. Do not worry about volume, as the notification is silent and will only appear on your screen. If you are busy you can decline the notification and the request will redirect to another volunteer. Be My Eyes app is free and great for those who have visual impairments needing assistance in a hurry through their phone. The service is global and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For more information on the apps mentioned in this post please visit the websites listed below.

Works Cited

Ava: Best Live Captions for All Conversations. (2020, September 11). Ava: Best Live Captions for All Conversations - Apps on Google Play. Retrieved October 02, 2020, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details...
Eyes, B. (2014, September 23). ‎Be My Eyes. Retrieved October 02, 2020, from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/be-my-eyes/id905177575
Petralex Hearing Aid App. (2020, April 30). Petralex Hearing Aid App - Apps on Google Play. Retrieved October 02, 2020, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details...
Wheelmap. (2020, January 15). Wheelmap - Apps on Google Play. Retrieved October 02, 2020, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details...

11/05/2020

Promoting Disability Awareness in the Workplace

Ariel Kurtz in her blog titled, “My Personal Experience with Disability Awareness in the Workplace” describes her experiences searching for jobs and the requirements that prevent individuals with disabilities that are otherwise qualified from applying. Kurtz expresses that most employers equate disability to individuals that use some form of an assistive device (mobility aid) yet many people have disabilities such as chronic illnesses, fine motor coordination difficulties, learning disabilities, etc. that are not always noticeable.

Kurtz believes that creating disability awareness in the work environment is an important first-step followed by talking to Human Resources professionals about specific workplace accommodation needs. Kurtz found that her job search was narrowed because of job requirements such as lifting 20 pounds for a desk job that would prohibit her from applying, and suggests that companies need to be aware of small changes that can be made to make it easier for the employee with a disability.

Kurtz remarked that working remotely during the COVID19 pandemic has eased a few frustrations such as wearing a uniform with buttons, which is a cumbersome and time-consuming a task for someone with coordination difficulties. Kurtz hopes that post-COVID19, employers will be more aware about disability, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace.

Source:
Kurtz, A. (2020, October 14). My Personal Experience with Disability Awareness in the Workplace. New York Gal.

My experience of working and being part of the disabled community. I want to help to create a more visible disability awareness at the workplace.

10/15/2020

09/25/2020

SAVE THE DATES!
Join us on October 6-9, 2020 for the fourth annual ITS Tech Fest Event that showcases innovations on our Campus that propel the success of our students, faculty and staff. This year’s theme is “Día De Los Techs” which means “Day of the Techs”. More information will be sent to campus in the coming week.

09/24/2020

CSUSB Title IX department is giving away 15 $20 Amazon gift cards each week for students who complete their training.

09/14/2020

Dr. Conrad Shayo, a professor in the Department of Information and Decision Sciences, an advisor, and a cooperative member for WorkAbility IV believes, “Making a living off of giving is rewarding.” Born in Tanzania, which located on the eastern coast of Africa, he attended Catholic school there throughout junior high and high school. For his bachelor’s degree, he received a scholarship to study accounting and obtained his degree in finance from the University of Dar Es Salaam. Dr. Shayo’s first job was as a planning and distribution manager for an educational supply company where he became interested in computers and information science and went back to the university. He received a full-ride scholarship to come to the U.S. where he achieved his Doctorate in Information Science from the Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Shayo started his career at CSUSB as an assistant professor in the Information and Decision Sciences Department, which led him to work full time with the university.

Dr. Conrad Shayo believes networking and having a mentor are critical to success. He uses his personal experience as an example. While working as a planning and distribution manager, the Dean of the university where he got his bachelor’s degree and his mentor, met with him every month to provide pivotal advice which led him to his current career. His mentor also persuaded him to go back to his alma mater and join the teaching faculty. Dr. Shayo says that having a mentor is important because they see things you don’t see and can advise you by providing useful tips in areas where you need improvement. Dr. Shayo is a great mentor himself giving advice and guiding CSUSB students struggling to select a major or career. He suggests choosing something you are good at, commit to it, and give it your all. The only way to succeed is to practice good habits, have a daily schedule, keep yourself honest, and know what matters most. His wise words and guidance motivate many students to be the best they can be.

08/24/2020

Are you a college student, graduate student, or recent graduate with a disability interested in learning more about federal employment? Check out the for internship and employment opportunities. www.wrp.gov