Ivymount recently recognized local IT managed services provider Dataprise with our New Business Partner of the Year Award in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). In early 2019, Dataprise became an Ivymount community jobsite partner, starting with one student interning in its PC Depot and adding a second student to its marketing department. The students are involved with clerical and administrative tasks, setting up employee computers and packing customer shipments, and supporting the Dataprise social media marketing strategy.
Dataprise has been celebrating the partnership on all its platforms and in its lobby (see photo). IvyNotes spoke with Marissa Ferraraccio, Director of Marketing, and Matt Hall, Supervisor, PC Depot, to hear first-hand about the partnership.
What was the overall goal of Dataprise when entering into this partnership?
Marissa:
For us, the overall goal was to help coach and mentor an Ivymount student and help them grow real-world experience. Understanding the goals of Ivymount, we were honored to be asked to be a part of the program and felt the needs of the student ultimately aligned with our needs. It has been a partnership made in heaven.
Matt:
The goal for Dataprise was to give Ivymount students the ability to experience real life work environments and understand what it’s like to tackle a multitude of tasks each and every day.
What value have the students provided to Dataprise through their work?
Marissa:
Jaida’s efforts in sharing our content via social has allowed us to reach more of our target audience and drive additional traffic to Dataprise.com. Our brand is stronger and has a consistent presence on a very important social media platform.
Matt:
Incredible value has been added since working with the students at Ivymount. When we needed an extra set of hands, our Ivymount students were there for us and allowed us to be more efficient and increase overall output.
What have been some highlights/challenges?
Marissa:
The biggest challenge for us was learning how to properly communicate and interact with our new team member from Ivymount! We all wanted to ensure our interactions with Jaida made her feel comfortable at Dataprise, and comfortable with her new teammates. Ivymount’s assistance and training was paramount in making that possible, and we all feel very comfortable working alongside Jaida each and every week.
Matt:
Some highlights include being able to work with the students; they are truly awesome! As well as attending Brad’s graduation; when I learned Dataprise was one of his favorite workplaces, it shed light on just how impactful our partnership with Ivymount is. Our biggest challenge was learning what types of tasks could be completed by our Ivymount team, and which could not be completed. Once those were determined, it was smooth sailing!
What have you and Dataprise learned about involving people with disabilities through this partnership?
Marissa:
Patience and mentorship. Those are the two words that come to mind; learning how to properly communicate and work with Jaida required patience in an ever-evolving chaotic B2B work environment, but with patience, came great results! For my team members, the opportunity to mentor someone a bit different from them will be a learned skillset they can carry with them throughout their careers, whether they realize it right away or not.
Matt:
Our Ivymount students are capable of doing anything thrown at them. They may just need some extra time to learn what to do with some added coaching.
What would you say to other organizations that may or may not be considering ways to increase work opportunities for people with disabilities?
Marissa:
I would tell organizations considering this partnership to absolutely move forward with it. As a team, we are better, stronger, and more compassionate in the workplace having worked with someone with disabilities and I truly believe that makes us better workers, and better people overall.
Matt:
If there are tasks that need to be completed on a daily or weekly basis, any of these students should be able to do so with instruction. Working with them has been a pleasure of mine, and Neal has been an awesome job coach and has been instrumental in the student’s success!
