When Junior Achievement (JA) of Southeast Texas asked for volunteers for the JA Inspire event, board member Mike Fields, dean of the College of Business, answered. Fifty volunteers were needed to guide more than 4,000 eighth graders as they rotated through five career path break-out sessions and dozens of industry exhibits during each day of the two-day event. The UHD College of Business responded by sending over 70 students each day. The overwhelming response was due to the outstanding support from the College of Business faculty according to Bill Dudley, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, who coordinated the effort with Lucille Pointer, department chair.

For many, the day began with a long, early morning bus ride from the Shea Street building to the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District's Berry Center. UHD students were then divided into groups to perform a variety of duties that included standing outside and directing traffic, guarding exits and off-limit areas, and assisting speakers at the breakout sessions. One student was unexpectedly invited to share his education and work experience with the young participants, and represented UHD well with his eloquence.

In addition to their assigned tasks, the UHD students were able to visit the many exhibits while discussing their career possibilities with the exhibitors, including Microsoft and Schlumberger, which had a human sized robot with an iPad for a face. Other exhibitors included the US Navy, PWC, Reliant, KBR, Halliburton, HP, ExxonMobil, Lyondellbasell, and Accenture. In addition to the wonderful exposure for UHD, the students received certificates for ten hours of community service from Junior Achievement.

More details about Junior Achievement and Inspire can be found at: https://www.juniorachievement.org/web/ja-set/ja-inspire

UHD volunteers with the Schlumberger robot.

UHD volunteers.