THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605240249
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 52 lines
Julie Lucord took dressing for success to a new level with a unique accessory - a top hat sporting the slogan ``I am exceptional and I am employed.''
Lucord represented Cox Communications this past Wednesday at the city schools' first Career/Service Fair for students with special needs.
Organized by Ellen Strassle and Marilyn Truesdell of the Churchland High School special-education staff, the fair brought together 38 service and education agencies as well as employers for an afternoon with more than 150 special-needs students from the city's middle and high schools. Parents and teachers also stopped by to learn more about job opportunities and specialized community services aimed at the disabled.
Lucord, 44, was born with spina bifida and other physical problems so severe that, when she was less than a year old, doctors advised her parents to ``take her home and make her as happy as you can until the end.''
But she grew up to graduate from a rehabilitation school, marry and land a job with Cox, where she has worked for the last 15 years as a switchboard operator/receptionist.
On Wednesday, she was a role model.
``We thought having me here as a disabled person would encourage these special-education kids to seek a job instead of thinking, `I can't do anything because I am disabled.' ''
Just a few displays away, Mary L. Curran, Central Fidelity Bank vice president, was busy handing out information about banking careers to a crowd of students.
``Most of them seem really interested,'' Curran said but added that the lollipops tucked into each information packet might have been the secret of her popularity.
To ensure that the students visited all of the displays, they were invited to participate in a sort of scavenger hunt, gathering information from various employers and services, to become eligible for door prizes donated by local businesses.
For many of the students, the fair was their first exposure to a career day and the possibilities of the job market.
``We want them to know there are a million jobs out there,'' Truesdell said. ``Whatever your level of ability, there is probably a job at every company that you could have.''
James Clemens agreed. He is a 16-year-old Churchland High freshman.
``My mother wants me to be an airplane mechanic,'' he said amid all the display tables, ``but there are a lot of jobs here to look at.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Special-needs students attend the Career/Service Fair at Churchland
High School. by CNB