Plainsboro resident Bonnie St. John was the keynote speaker Oct. 21 when Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NPC) hosted 50 high school and college students with disabilities for a mentoring and hands-on career exploration event on national Disability Mentoring Day.
The purpose of the event at NPC’s East Hanover campus was to enlighten special-needs students about the career possibilities open to them, and to help build a diverse New Jersey workforce.
St. John, a Paralympics medal-winning skier, author and former White House employee who lost a leg at age 5, spoke about “Choosing to be Extraordinary.”
Also participating were students who attend Horizon High School in Livingston, Roxbury High School, Orange High School, Verona High School and Ramapo College in Mahwah, along with 70 volunteers who work for NPC.
In addition, a panel of NPC employees spoke to students about their own disabilities, or those of their family members.
Disability Mentoring Day activities included an interactive series of chemistry experiments with NPC scientists, a videoconferencing activity that emphasized high-tech business communications and teamwork, and a behind-the-scenes look at jobs in engineering, site operations, graphic design, corporate employee health and security operations.
Antione Wiggins, a paraprofessional who works with the Orange High School students who attended the event, called it “one of the best things we’ve been to for disabled kids. It was a real eye-opener for them, especially the words from the keynote speaker.”
St. John, who has a titanium leg, told the students that, while they may never lead typical lives, “you can lead an extraordinary life anyway, one that’s interesting and fun. Normal is way overrated.”
National Disability Mentoring Day is sponsored each year by the American Association of People with Disabilities. In New Jersey, it is coordinated by Allies, Inc., an advocate for people with disabilities and their families.