‘It Takes a Village’: How We’re Working with CareerVillage.org to Help Students Everywhere

By Keysha Bradley
Inside T Staff Writer

Think back to when you were a teenager. Did you have questions about your future? Well…you weren’t alone.

More than 1 in 3 students who are at risk of not graduating high school grow up without an adult mentor to help them find the answer to their career questions.¹

At AT&T, we’re committed to making a difference for the people around us. It defines us as a company and as individuals.

That’s why our technology incubator, the AT&T Aspire Accelerator, supports edtech start-ups like CareerVilliage.org, that provide career advice and guidance to students.

The online platform gives students the opportunity to ask any question about any career topic. Their questions are then matched to over 25,000 working professionals who have relevant expertise and experiences to share.

With January being National Mentoring Month, it’s a perfect time to increase our impact by inviting our employees to become CareerVillage.org mentors.

Since 2012, our employees have spent more than 2.2 million hours mentoring over 350,000 students.

Why volunteer with CareerVillage.org?

Millions of students who lack access to personalized career advice turn to the Internet for help. Therefore, online mentoring programs help reach students where they often already are – online. CareerVillage.org allows mentors to connect with students regardless of distance.

Just ask Charles Anderson, a lead billing analyst at AT&T.

“We’ve all heard it said that it takes a village to raise a child,” said Charles Anderson. “And I think the same can be said for developing our future workforce. That’s why I’m excited to share my experiences on CareerVillage.org to give advice to young people who could someday be my colleagues.”

Since Charles started volunteering* with CareerVillage.org, he’s given 27 pieces of advice that have been viewed over 3,000 times by the community.

“With each question I answer, I’m more encouraged that I’m making a difference,” he said. “I highly recommend everyone at AT&T to get involved.”

Misty Miller, a customer service representative in Huntsville, AL, also volunteers with CareerVillage.org. “I wish something like this was around when I was a teenager,” said Misty. “I’m passionate about answering questions about my career or my hobbies that can help our youth. It’s definitely gratifying to be a part of CareerVillage.org.”

Misty has given 56 pieces of advice that has been viewed almost 7,000 times by online learners!

Make a difference. Join CareerVillage.org today by taking part in a quick 2-minute sign-up process. Volunteering on CareerVillage.org is easy, flexible and you can help change students’ lives.