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Disability:IN is the leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide. The NextGen Leadership Program is a six-month virtual mentoring program that pairs mentors from one of Disability:IN's Corporate Partner companies with mentees who are college students and recent graduates with disabilities to focus on career readiness and employment outcomes.
Eligibility:
To participate in the 2024 NextGen Leadership Program, you must:
- Be either a current undergraduate, graduate, or law student (enrolled and actively attending classes) or a recent graduate (no earlier than 2022) of an accredited North American or South American college or university
- Self-identify as an individual with any type of disability
- Individuals that are not U.S. citizens are invited to participate in this program provided that you meet all 3 of the following criteria:
- Located in North or South America
- Possess all proper and necessary work authorization
documents for work in the United States and/or your desired country of
employment
- Fluent in both verbal and written English for
the purposes of general business correspondence and communication with your
mentor
Disability:IN does not discriminate based on race, creed,
color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity, age, disability, and marital status. Disability:IN highly encourages
students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, women, and veterans to apply for our
programs.
This online application must be completed by the end
of day 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. No exceptions or extensions
will be granted.
The NextGen Leadership Program has two components:
1. 1. NextGen Virtual Mentoring Program
A six-month mentorship program for college students and
recent graduates with disabilities. The program connects NextGen Leaders with
experienced professionals from Disability:IN’s Corporate Partners, creating
supportive relationships to navigate the job search. NextGen Leader mentees will
gain access and mentors from Corporate Partners, however there is no guarantee
that NextGen Leaders will receive a job offer during the program.
Meet virtually twice monthly for six months with a
corporate mentor.
Participate in monthly professional development
webinars.
Receive notifications of various job opportunities
with Corporate Partners throughout the year via a Job Opportunity Digest.
Opportunity to attend the annual Virtual Speed
Networking to meet with up to five Corporate Partners.
2. NextGen Talent Accelerator
A select group of NextGen Leaders will also be
chosen to attend the 2024 Disability: IN Global Conference & Expo from July
13-18, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
If selected, you’ll have the opportunity to engage in two
days of pre-conference skills building, leadership development and networking
on July 13-14 prior to attending the full conference July 15-18 alongside more
than 2,000 disability inclusion champions from across the globe.
Participating NextGen Leaders can meet and network with
potential employers from across industries through interactive development
workshops, facilitated networking and matchmaking sessions, resume building
activities and more.
Disability:IN will cover all costs for conference
registration, reasonable accommodations, and standard travel (airfare, hotel,
and meals) for approximately 75 NextGen Leaders who are selected to attend the
conference. Due
to restrictions related to the gaming industry in place at the conference
hotel, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, all attendees selected for the 2024
NextGen Talent Accelerator must be at least 21 years of age or older as of July
1, 2024.
Not all applicants will be selected to attend since it is a
highly competitive process.
NextGen Talent Accelerator Goals:
- Build NextGen Leaders' professional skills for the private employment
sector
-
Help businesses identify talented individuals with disabilities to hire
Secure interview and networking opportunities with Disability:IN Corporate
Partners
Collaborate with other NextGen Leaders as part of the Innovation Lab design competition
Increase NextGen Leader confidence as job and internship seekers
The NextGen Leadership Program is highly selective and
receives approximately 1,000 applications each year with only about 400
selected to participate. Completion of this application does not guarantee a
place in the program; your acceptance is contingent on the strength of your
application.
Review a list of our Disability:IN corporate partners here. You will be asked to rank 10 companies in order of your
interest.
* An asterisk notates a required question or field.
Here is a link to the recording of the information session: Shared Screen with Speaker, Gallery View (Includes ASL Interpreter)
26. Please rank at least 10 of the current Disability:IN Corporate Partners you are interested in from most to least interested, the first being the company you are most interested in and decreasing in order of interest.
Please note that Disability:IN cannot
guarantee that these Corporate Partners will participate in the mentoring
program or will attend the conference. Corporate Partners are subject to
change. (view the list of Corporate Partners here).