Whether interviewing for a role at an investment bank or a coffee shop, it’s essential to understand your strengths and how to effectively discuss them with an employer.
That’s the lesson ILA students recently shared with clients at Extra Special People (ESP) — a resource center for people with developmental differences — during a professional skills workshop they led this spring.
Part of the programming at ESP includes Java Joy, a mobile coffee cart that employs adults with disabilities. The coffee cart offers ESP clients, known as Joyristas, opportunities to interact with the public, build confidence, and spread joy. When ESP’s leadership wanted to expand its Joyrista training to cover more advanced leadership and professional skills, it turned to ILA students.
Leonard Leadership Scholars Emily Moseley and Hazel McQueen, who both graduate in May with degrees in finance, stepped up using the tools they’ve learned through ILA coursework to inspire and equip the Joyristas with the confidence needed to thrive in the workforce.
Moseley and McQueen created and led a superhero-themed professional development workshop focused on interview skills with one powerful goal: help Joyristas recognize the professional superpowers they already possess.
They began by identifying individual strengths such as dependability, positivity, hard work, and being supportive teammates. They shifted the perspective on interviews from moments you must change who you are to opportunities that confidently showcase the strengths you already bring.
The scholars had Joyristas share “hero stories” of times they solved a problem or helped others at work, breaking down the process of answering interview questions into clear, concrete steps. The duo taught, discussed, and interacted with the content in engaging ways, incorporating role-play to practice interview etiquette, and emphasized the importance of professional dress and posture in greetings and handshakes.
Moseley and McQueen tailored the workshop so the lessons were engaging and easy to remember for all learning types.
“Leading this workshop was especially meaningful to me because it allowed me to invest more deeply in the Athens community and support our Joyristas, not just in their current roles, but in their future opportunities,” Moseley said. “Watching them step into their strengths with pride and ownership was the most rewarding part of the experience.”
The workshop concluded with each Joyrista creating a personalized “business card” featuring their name and professional superpower, giving them a tangible reminder of their capabilities.
“We’re witnessing the beginning of the impact these young women, and all of our students, will continue to make,” said Stacy Campbell, director of ILA. “We’re proud of the way these students are turning leadership into action and investing wholeheartedly in the Athens community. Their commitment to serving others reminds us that leadership is not just something you learn, it’s something you live.”