FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Media Inquiries, Contact:
Marlen Zarcone
mzarcone@acteonline.org
Hillwood, A Perot Company Named as an ACTE Business-Education Partnership Award Winner
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and its Board of Directors is pleased to announce Hillwood, A Perot Company as an ACTE Business-Education Partnership Award Winner. The Business-Education Partnership Award celebrates the contributions and achievements of schools and businesses that aid in the development and maintenance of partnerships supporting high-quality career and technical education (CTE).
Hillwood created AllianceTexas, a 27,000-acre master-planned community. It’s an economic engine powering a region where businesses big and small are embracing innovation. They are unique in having a dedicated customer experience team. This provided them with the perfect landscape for student work-based learning experiences that have partnered with a variety of corporations from a vast array of career clusters.
The team at Hillwood, led by Director of Customer Experience, Hope Bell, created a plan for a nine-month student networking opportunity. The AllianceTexas Student Influencers Program was formed. Hope, ESC Region 11 Regional Industry Advisory Board Executive team member and Hillwood employee has championed this initiative with other advisory board members. There is a vision for expansion of this model with Hillwood having offered mentorship to members of the ESC 11 Regional Industry Advisory Board so more companies in our ten-county region can use this framework to connect with high school students in a deep and meaningful way.
Students walk away from this program with highly honed professional skills, networking capabilities, a deeper understanding of the world of work, and the ability to advocate for themselves in a professional manner. This four-year old program is built into their Customer Experience program, as it supports the education/workforce pipeline, and ongoing initiatives focused on workforce development and collaboration. The program is a tremendous success, and they plan to add training in professional development skills, and public speaking. These needs are expressed by company leaders and HR Executives for all new employees, so they will be embedded into the Student Influencers Program aligning with Career and Technical Education at the highest levels.
The investment of human capital to plan, manage, and champion this initiative is crucial. They have two staff members that manage this initiative, Hope Bell and Sara Hunton, and many associated companies donate time to engage with students. The most important component is the vision for this program to fill the need of providing real world experience gained through facility tours, interviews, networking opportunities, hands-on project planning and for more students in the local community to have access to work-based learning.
Hillwood, A Perot Company will be recognized alongside other national ACTE award winners on December 4, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. ET, at the annual ACTE Awards Gala. For more information on the Impact Awards and the Awards Gala, visit http://www.acteonline.org/awards.
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About ACTE
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE represents the community of CTE professionals, including educators, administrators, researchers, school counselors, guidance and career development professionals and others at all levels of education. ACTE is committed to excellence in providing advocacy, public awareness and access to resources.
