Representatives with the Army Civilian Career Management Activity and U.S. Army senior civilian leaders met with representatives from several universities at White Sands Missile Range for a key academic influencer engagement event April 24 and 25.
ACCMA provides deliberate career management of Army civilians to support accomplishment of the Army mission.
WSMR Commander Col. George Turner welcomed the group to the event followed by a presentation on WSMR.
“This is a great opportunity to reach out to our academic partners,” Turner said.
Turner said WSMR does a great job on developmental testing but to continue WSMR needs talent.
“We are looking to you, our academic partners, to help us bring that talent.”
The purpose of the event was to bring together college deans and army senior civilian leaders to WSMR to engage and inform them of rewarding and exciting Army civilian career opportunities for students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and invest in strengthening relationships to increase Army civilian career program buy-in from key academic influencers by providing dynamic, informative, and interactive in-person experiences for strategically targeted universities showcasing the important and rewarding work Army civilians perform.
Guests started their day at the Cox Range Control Center where they received several briefings on Army civilian careers led by Roy A. Wallace, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Headquarters, Department of the Army. He is responsible for personnel readiness and well-being of the Army through the development and integration of human resources polices and programs for all three components of the Army, as well as Department of the Army civilian and contract employees.
Wallace said civilian employees are enabling Soldiers to continue defending our great nation.
“This is your Army; we are asking you to take the information back to your respective universities and help us tell the Army story.”
Timothy A. Weathersbee, Chief, Talent Acquisition Division, with ACCMA, then talked about some of the programs to include the Student Intern Program for students currently enrolled in a full-time degree program. He followed that with a presentation on the Fellows Program, a two-year program that provides Fellows the opportunity to embark on a developmental, accelerated career path as an Army civilian employee. Upon successful completion of the program, Fellows will then be promoted into a permanent position.
After lunch the group travelled to DEVCOM where they received a tour of the anechoic chamber. The next day they were treated to a demonstration at SVAD, followed by a tour at TRAC-WSMR.
Betsy Castro-Duarte, Director of the University of Texas El Paso Career Center Department, said the event was very insightful which is why she felt it was important for the educators to attend.
“It’s an opportunity for us to learn a little bit more about the different divisions within WSMR,” Castro-Duarte said. “We got the opportunity to see and experience the employment opportunities for our graduates.”
Castro Duarte said she took several notes on the different programs available to students to include the SMART program, the SIP and direct hiring opportunities for some of their graduates who want to stay in the area and also opportunities for those who may want to leave the area.
Huinan Hannah Liu, Ph. D, Associate Dean of Student Academic Affairs for Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California at Riverside said she really enjoyed the facility tours and demonstrations.
“It was a great learning experience and I hope to bring what I learned back to my university and share it with me colleagues, the career center, and the students. There are many opportunities with the Army civilian careers.”
Other key academic influencers in attendance included David R. Allee, Professor, School of Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University, Mebougna L. Drabo, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Alabama A&M University, Gabby Gandara, Assistant Dean for Engineering Student Success in the College of Engineering at UTEP, David V. Jauregui, PE, Interim Dean of Engineering in the College of Engineering at New Mexico State University, Kenith E. Meissner II, Ph.D., Dean, College of Engineering, UTEP, Heather Moore, Assistant Director for Career Engagement in the University of Arizona College of Engineering, Daniel J. Pack, Dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Baylor University, Robert Rabb, Associate Dean for Education and Graduate Professional Programs, College of Engineering Penn State University.
U.S. Army representatives included: Christopher J. Barrett, Executive Director, U.S. Army Evaluation Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, WSMR Command Sgt. Maj. Michael S. Cordery, Vincent M. Liddiard, Executive Technical Director, WSMR, Hong V. Miller, Chief Human Capital Officer U.S. Army Futures Command, Suzanne R. Torres, Chief, Civilian Programs and Management Division, Human Capital, Army Futures Command, U.S. Department of the Army, Austin, Texas, Myrna C. Saldana-Trevino, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army Texas (East), Tina Manns, Chief, Strategic Outreach Branch Army Civilian Career Management Activity Civilian Human Resources Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Clara Hannon, Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Strategic Outreach Branch Talent Acquisition Division Army Civilian Career Management Activity, Civilian Human Resources Agency, Paula K. Rickleff, Strategic Outreach and Engagement Coordinator U.S. Army Civilian Career Management Activity (ACCMA), Kristina Swingle serves as a Recruiting specialist for the Talent Acquisition Division of Army Civilian Career Management Activity.
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