This is a new series that I am happy to introduce and plan on posting once / week. I am going to reach out to someone that I think plays an important role in Diversity, Inclusion, and/or Cultural Competency work and have them answer 9 fairly simple questions, so that you can get to kno them. I hope you enjoy. It is my pleasure to start with Ashira Jones of INROADS:
1.) Who are you, where do you work, what do you do there? Ashira D. Jones, INROADS Midwest Region, Inc., Client Manager. Responsibilities include: Recruitment of talented, diverse college and high school students for internships in Business, IT, Nursing, Engineering and Retail , Client relationship management, Intern relationship management, preparing recruits for interviews with corporate sponsors including resume critiques, mock interviews, etc., and coaching interns to help students become business savvy professionals.
2.) Why do you do what you do? I love working with students to provide tools that further their corporate and academic success. I also strongly believe in the mission of INROADS: To develop and place talented minority youth in business and industry and prepare them for corporate and community leadership.
3.) What is the unique value that your organization and / or your work brings to the community? INROADS is the only organization in the community that works with students of color to: 1) Provide an opportunity to get an internship in their field of Study 2) Provide yearly leadership and professional development training to particpants 3) Provide regular support via coaching and advising and 4) Aim to convert these students to full time employment after college graduation.
4.) What is the most challenging aspect of your work and what is the most rewarding? Most Challenging: Recruiting enough students to fill all of our opportunities and who are the best fit for the positions. Most Rewarding: Seeing a student progress from freshman in college to polished professional as an INROADS alum.
5.) Where do you get new ideas about your work? Networking with other INROADS staff across the US and from working with INROADS champions at our sponsoring companies. I also try to read Black Enterprise and Diversity Inc. magazines to stay current and get ideas.
6.) What do you do to take care of yourself? Try to take out of town vacations every 4-5 months.
7.) What is your favorite thing about Omaha? It’s a great place for a young professional to start his or her career because there are a lot of great companies and jobs.
8.) What is the last good book that you read? The Autobiography of Malcom X 9.) How can people contact you? INROADS
