Hey y’all, Derek here! I’m overjoyed to announce I have accepted positions within two different organizations in the past few days!
Firstly, I applied and was selected for a position within the Council of State Governments Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth Working Group! I will be working with ten other young disabled people, plus three within CSG (for facilitation) to help state and federal lawmakers craft transition policies to be better centered around the true needs of disabled people in moving from teenage years to adulthood (the workforce or college). I’ll be going to conferences around the US (and virtually) to work hands-on with the other members and legislators to directly influence change and share the issues I face as a young disabled person! This is huge for me as a young advocate, as it will give me the opportunity to practice and learn how to better advocate for myself, advocate as part of a team, and gain connections within state legislatures around the US! I start with them today (October 30) and I can’t wait to meet the rest of the team and get started! To learn more and support my journey with them, you can visit my Twitter @derekischmitz where I’ll be posting about my experience, and you can follow CAPE @CSG_CAPEYouth on Twitter as well!
Secondly, I applied for and was accepted for a marketing internship position within the Autoimmune Community Institute! I first heard their founder Dr. April Moreno facilitate an event for the Autoimmune Association, and was instantly hooked into her proactive approach to conditions. I looked into ACI right after the conference and applied for their internship. 11 days later, I met with Dr. April one-on-one and was offered a position to assist them in expanding their community through Twitter and their new podcast! I love working with smaller organizations with big goals, as you can really see your work benefit the organization and help work to meet those goals. I can’t wait to meet the rest of the team and hit the ground running to help expand their communities when I officially start on November 12! To learn more and support my journey with them, you can visit my Twitter @derekischmitz where I’ll be boosting their work and sharing my experience, and you can follow ACI @ACICommunity on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, and Instagram as well to support their amazing organization!
I’m really excited to begin my work with these organizations and can’t wait to share more with y’all! Thanks for reading!
Derek I. Schmitz 