ASHLAND — Jessica Hiser and Miriam Morgenstern stood in front of a classroom full of students donning blue Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center hoodies.
The pair engaged students, asking them to fill out a worksheet with an elevator pitch.
“What is an elevator pitch?” Hiser asked.
A student answered, telling Hiser it’s an introduction to yourself. Morgenstern handed the student a Spherion water bottle for answering the question.
Hiser pressed forward with the presentation, encouraging students to log their skills on the worksheet.
As she progressed through the activity, she shared about her own journey to her current position as the director of marketing and advertising at Spherion Mid-Ohio, which connects employers to workers.
Hiser told students she wanted to be an art therapist when she was a high school sophomore — their age. But, she said, she knew she had strengths in communication.
When she found out she could use those strengths in her job, it led her to marketing.
Thinking through those strengths as sophomores, she said, can help students get a head start when it comes to job searches.
Hiser and Morgenstern, a marketing and outreach specialist with Spherion, went on to tell students about the importance of a good handshake, conflict management skills and building a brand.
“You are your own brand,” Morgenstern said.
She added students could begin using their social media accounts to share about their passions.
Their presentation happened as part of ME Inc., a workforce development program for high schoolers run through Spherion.
What is ME Inc.?
The ME Inc. program came about in 2016, according to Beth Delaney, owner of Spherion Mid-Ohio.
Delaney and Hiser created the program in response to challenges they heard employers were experiencing.
The program focuses on teaching students soft skills, conflict management and helping them to develop a personal brand.
“We hope to help them in their current grade and take them through their entire life,” Delaney said.
Spherion reaches out to school districts and offers to give a ME Inc. presentation — the one Hiser gave at the Career Center. It’s free of charge to the schools, too.
Delaney said most schools in Spherion Mid-Ohio’s area — which spans nine counties — take them up, offering the presentation to students.
While the program started in Northeast Ohio, Delaney said it’s also expanded beyond the state.
Spherion locations across the nation also use ME Inc. to share those skills with students, helping prepare them for their future careers.
Delaney added another part of the program helps connect students with scholarship opportunities through Spherion.
Spherion’s Sandy Mazur scholarship
Specifically, Delaney said, Spherion offers a Sandy Mazur scholarship, named for Spherion’s former president. The scholarship offers students funding to pursue either higher education or training options for their career.
It’s funded through donations to the Richland County Foundation, but attracts between 500 to 700 applicants from across the country each year, Delaney said.
This year, three scholarships of up to $3,000 each are available to students. Delaney said the scholarship focuses on students who are making their community better.
“You do not have to be a straight-A student to do this,” Delaney said.
Students who don’t participate in ME Inc. are allowed to apply. But in Delaney’s estimation, the skills students take from the program can be helpful in the application process.
Delaney said names and locations are removed in the review process for the scholarship. She’s hoping somebody from Ohio receives it this year though.
Applications are open through April 30 this year. Interested students can apply at the following link: https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/94510-Richland-County-Foundation.