Cal Transitions, UC Berkeley's WorkAbility IV program, represents a select group of students and recent Cal graduates who have disabilities. Cal Transitions connects qualified, experienced, and diverse candidates with employers interested in enriching their workforce by hiring the best.

The Cal Transitions program works with recent graduates from the university who are eligible for services from the State Vocational Rehabilitation department.

Cal Transitions offers its program participants a continuum of job placement and retention services. This approach to placement increases the likelihood of professional success for people with disabilities enrolled in the program.
Some of the offered services include:

• Career Counseling from a certified specialist in the field
• Job search skill development: finding and retaining internships and jobs
• Individual goal setting
• Creation of an individualized action plan
• Resume and cover letter development
• Job development and placement services
• Peer support
• Job Club (weekly)
• Career Club (monthly)
• Use of accessible workstation (with Window Eyes, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Read & Write)
• On-going support at the job site to aid with retention
• And of course, mentoring.

Why Have a Mentor?
There are many benefits to a mentor-mentee relationship. Developing and maintaining an informal relationship with a working professional can help you to:

• Learn from someone who has experienced disability-related frustrations similar to yours and experienced success.
• Obtain firsthand, relevant information about the realities of working within a particular field, industry, or position.
• Clarify your initial goals and develop a plan towards achieving them.
• Improve your communication skills by talking informally with an interested and supportive professional.
• Start building your professional network.

This year the Cal Transitions program celebrates the 6th Annual Disability Mentoring Night at UC Berkeley!  An event specifically for students with disabilities, the two hour program has modestly been called “one of the most awesome events of the year!”

• Connect with professionals (with and without disabilities) in the field of your interest
• Become completely riveted and inspired by the key note lineup
• Network, make friends
• Eat some pretty great food!

In addition to Mentoring Night, the Cal Transitions program is in the mitts of launching a new mentoring program to include an online database with professionals who are interested in being a resource for people with disabilities. This database will include:

• Cal alumni and professionals with disabilities
• Cal alumni and other professionals without disabilities working in a variety of career fields
• Employers with an ongoing relationship with the Career Center who are interested in referring their employees to be mentors.

Meriah Hudson, the coordinator for the CAL Transitions program has recently been named the new American Association of People with Disabilities Local Disability Mentoring Day Coordinator.

California has been without a DMD coordinator for some time, so the recent naming of Ms. Hudson is good news for Californian’s with disabilities.

It is never too early to start planning.  As the new AAPD Local Disability Mentoring Day Coordinator, Ms Hudson is eager to form a Disability Mentoring Day Committee to begin planning for 2008.

A collaboration between community based organizations, educational institutions, employers and of course, participants, will allow for the development of a fine regional disability mentoring program.

If you are interested in assisting in the planning of DMD 2008 or disability awareness month activities 2008, please send Ms. Hudson an email at mhudson@berkeley.edu

Meriah Hudson
Cal Transitions * WorkAbility IV Coordinator, UC Berkeley
mhudson@berkeley.edu