Mission Ready… For a Job: Easterseals Redwood Connects Student Gamers with Future Careers

Gaming event jumpstarts nonprofit’s initiative to help neurodivergent young adults level up on their career plans

Easterseals Redwood, a nonprofit working to empower children and adults with disabilities, military veterans, and people facing disadvantages to live full and meaningful lives, recently partnered with Cincinnati Fear, the University of Cincinnati, and Game Day Communications to host neurodivergent high school and college students for Game to Career: Esports Employment Fair at UC’s Esports Lab.

The event showcased how esports-related expertise and skill sets translate into real-world job applications. More than 90 attendees – including students, parents and educators – showed up to play video games and network with local employers while learning how to better connect the cognitive and strategic skills developed through video-gaming to a viable career in droning, cyber security, IT services, and more.

The event was sponsored by Fifth Third Bank. Other participating companies included Aero Fulfillment, the U.S. Air Force, altafiber, Emerge, Journey Steel, and PNC Bank.

“Connecting talented youth to potential future employers is important in keeping our talent pipeline flowing, and this event was a great opportunity to do just that while also highlighting how skills developed through gaming can translate into real-world value for companies,” said Debbie Smith, Senior Advisor for Strategic Innovation at Easterseals Redwood. “The strong turnout and the energy in the room were a clear reminder of how impactful these experiences can be in preparing the next generation for meaningful careers. It’s inspired us to take the next step with the launch of Mission Ready: From Gaming to Tech Careers, kicking off in July—a new program designed to help individuals of all abilities discover and pursue their professional potential.”

Mission Ready: From Gaming to Tech Careers is a six-week summer course designed for neurodivergent young adults to better help them connect with career opportunities utilizing skills they’ve honed from e-sports related activities. Along with developing a career plan, individuals in the course will connect with industry leaders and other neurodivergent peers. The course kicks off on July 16 and will be held at Easterseals Redwood’s Farmer Family Regional Impact Campus in Walnut Hills.

Game to Career and the upcoming summer course are both part of a new Easterseals Redwood initiative to connect neurodivergent individuals with employment opportunities.

Registration for Mission Ready: From Gaming to Tech Careers is $3,000 and scholarships are available. To learn more about the new program, contact Debbie Smith at dsmith@eastersealsredwood.org.

Easterseals Redwood is also looking for sponsors to invest in this new initiative. If you would like to learn more about how you or your organization can support, please contact Rachel Fausz at rfausz@eastersealsredwood.org.