A little bit after lunch Thursday, Kyle Hudson will put his lengthy experience as the leader of the UTC Mosaic program to the test.
Hudson, who has been on the job for all of two weeks, is certainly up to the task. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from Lee University in 2013 and his master's degree in counseling from Lee last year.
He's ready. And more importantly, he's excited.
Jay GreesonFrom 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Hudson and his staff will host a "reverse job fair" for UTC juniors and seniors. It's a chance for local companies to see some of the best and brightest Mocs as they try to find internships and employment.
Unlike traditional job fairs, in which students and new graduates flock to convention halls and try to meet as many executives and HR folks as possible, a reverse job fair attracts employer representatives to a school to meet job prospects.
Thursday, however, is a bit different from the traditional students-meeting-hiring folks standpoint.
The reverse fair is for the talented collection of UTC students who have autism. It's the fourth year of the event, and after drawing almost 40 local businesses last year, Hudson is hoping for similar numbers - if not more.
"In a perfect world, every one of our students will find a local connection - job or internship - from this," Hudson said earlier this week.
It's a great idea for the students, and a great opportunity for local businesses.
Rest assured, Hudson is not pitching this as a "come find an autistic employee" event. No sir, no ma'am. This is a "come find a valuable addition to your company" event.
"This is not a story about heartstrings," he said. "This is about a great group of talented kids who any company would be fortunate to meet."
So this is a story centered on hard work as much as heart-warming. This is about graduates with the goods, and their stories of overcoming hurdles are interesting and impressive but not defining or detrimental.
The abilities of these soon-to-be graduates should never be linked with a caveat.
Society's growing ability to identify and help autistic students has allowed us to get to this point. The stigma has subsided, and for Hudson's troop of hopeful job hunters, the truth is not what they have but what they can be.
"This is a collection of high-achieving and motivated people who will be an asset to any workplace," Hudson said.
Hudson speaks emphatically about the students who will be at Thursday's fair.
Hard-working.
Determined.
Focused.
Educated.
What's not to like, right?
"I know that everyone who gets a chance to meet these students will be impressed," Hudson said.
Sure, he may be a bit biased, but here's betting he's right.
And everyone who shows up will be more than impressed.
For more information about Thursday's event, contact Hudson at Kyle-Hudson@utc.edu.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.