Campus & Community

Palm Beach State College staff and faculty have partnered with the Florida Division of Blind Services and CareerSource Palm Beach County to host a series of events in celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

The celebration, held annually in October and led nationally by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, is designed to pay homage to the skills and talents workers with disabilities bring to the workforce.

In keeping with this year’s national theme, “#InclusionWorks,” Palm Beach State College’s Academic and Career Advising, Disability Support Services and Professional Teaching and Learning Center (PTLC) collaborated to generate awareness of the federal law that protects individuals with disabilities as well as services and resources available to them at the College and in the community.

Among the events are:

• Thursday, Oct. 20, 2–3:30 p.m., Room CE 119, Lake Worth campus
  “Accessibility: Stories of Careers,” a panel discussion featuring Juanita Hook, PBSC assistant director of human resources and equity officer; Elsa DeGoias, disability services manager at CareerSource Palm Beach County; Aida Alvarez, business development manager at Velocity Community Credit Union; Robert Brown, re-entry job developer, CareerSource Palm Beach County; Shannon Smigo, student development advisor II at PBSC and Nikki Champagne, career development advisor II at PBSC.

• Thursday, Oct. 27, 3:30–4:30 p.m., LLRC Gallery, Lake Worth campus
  “Understanding: See Through My Eyes,” a program presented by the Florida Division of Blind Services to provide information on how to effectively work with students with visual impairments. This event, geared toward faculty and staff, is being sponsored by the PTLC and registration is required.

• Friday, Oct. 28, 3–7 p.m., Stage West, Lake Worth campus
  “Connecting: Movie & Discussion,” a screening of the movie “Silver Linings Playbook” followed by a discussion on how this movie applies to your everyday life and interacting with others.

The history of this month dates back to 1945 when Congress declared the first week in October each year as “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” In 1962, the word “physically” was dropped to acknowledge individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, the federal legislature expanded the week to a month and changed the name to National Disability Employment Awareness Month. When the department established the Office of Disability Employment Policy in 2001, the agency assumed responsibility for NDEAM.

For more information about these and other events visit the PBSC events calendar.