Cumberland Academy of Georgia, an Atlanta-based special needs school, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, have worked together on many projects which enhanced the schools' facilities. This week, the corporate partnership morphed into an educational partnership through a newly developed seminar. LexisNexis Risk Solutions developed the seminar for young adults and with strong Math and Computer Science skills. This two-day coding and career seminar was offered to both Cumberland alumni and current high school students. Originally tested in Florida, LexisNexis Risk Solutions wanted to test it in Georgia, and Cumberland was the school chosen to be first recipient.

"Many of our students are math-oriented and already have been identified with coding proficiencies. This seminar gave our students a more in depth study of coding and added to their current skill level," says Debbi Scarborough, headmaster and founding director of Cumberland Academy of Georgia. "Students found the resume writing and interview process invaluable. We are so grateful for our partnership with LexisNexis Risk Solutions. This is an opportunity for our students that can assist them as they make their way to college."

On the first day, the seminar began with a presentation from Scarborough to the employees and volunteer mentors from LexisNexis Risk Solutions. She discussed Autism Spectrum Disorder and how to work with a co-worker who has ASD. In addition, she explained different strategies taught at Cumberland that help students in their academic endeavors. She offered explanations for why students appear agitated in certain circumstances (i.e. students with sensory issues may dislike the sound of the air conditioning, etc). Steven Scarborough, Scarborough's son, gave a presentation on what it's like to have ASD.

After the presentation, students were given a brief overview of the coding project and paired with an individual mentor from LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Together, they worked on coding skills using ECL coding language which is a specific coding language developed for use with the company's high performance computing platform, HPCC Systems. After a day of coding, the students and their mentors presented their findings to the group. Two students were given special awards for their efforts, and all students received a certificate of coding experience.

During day two of the seminar, the students were given a tour of the LexisNexis Risk Solutions data center and a description of the scope of work at the company. After, Cumberland students were paired with a different mentor. This individual taught their mentee how to build their resume and how to prepare for interviews. This included what managers are looking for and how to sell yourself as a great employee during an interview. Towards the end of the day, students participated in mock interviews. The managers made suggestions so students would be able to interview and present their resumes and themselves in the best way possible.

"Our students loved working together with the employees of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The mentors were absolute rock stars. They were so patient and encouraging with our students," says Scarborough. "We hope they come back next year, so more students can join us and learn even more about coding and gain business-related skills."