ENTRY POINT! Launches New Partnership with CVS Caremark

ENTRY POINT! has announced a new partnership with CVS Caremark to provide competitive summer internships for science and engineering students with disabilities.

Through the partnership, several students selected by CVS staff will participate in a paid, 10-week summer internship in CVS Caremark pharmaceutical facilities around the country. CVS Caremark is the nation's largest pharmacy services provider, combining a retail chain with a prescription management service.

"Our ongoing energy is to recruit and hire a diverse workforce from neighborhoods so that our customers will feel at home while they shop," said Stephen Wing, director of workforce initiatives at CVS Caremark. "We want our stores, distribution centers, and call centers to mirror the communities where they are located."

Wing brought several CVS colleagues to AAAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., 27 February to meet with eight promising undergraduate science majors with disabilities selected by ENTRY POINT!. CVS plans to offer between three and five internship opportunities this summer.

Currently in its 13^th year, ENTRY POINT! internships connect talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students with employers from around the country including IBM, Lockheed Martin, Merck, NASA, NAVAIR, Google, Pfizer, and now CVS.

The program offers accepted students with disabilities internships at top research companies or government research agencies across the country. The placements match the student's desire for engaging work with the employer's need for an expanded pool of technical talent.

The internships are also helpful because the employers are able to meet the students' needs for assistive technology and other accommodations. Mentors and students involved in the program often serve as ambassadors to the wider community.

"U.S. companies are constantly seeking new talent, especially in science and technology," said Virginia Stern, director of the AAAS Project on Science, Technology and Disability. "ENTRY POINT! helps corporations broaden participation in their workforce by identifying outstanding students with disabilities who have the much-needed skill sets."

Benjamin Somers

3 March 2008