By Guest Blogger, Christina Holch, ARAMARK Healthcare Fellow
As an ARAMARK Administrative Fellow I had the opportunity to attend the Institute for Diversity Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s theme was “Run Towards The Roar”. Clearly, this organization aims high!
During our stay we had the opportunity to learn best techniques for collecting diversity data and developing a diverse workforce (from the frontline to the Board Room), browse among the many vendors who provide interpretative services, and converse with a variety of human resources professionals (from Directors of Diversity to Chief Diversity Officers). As a first time attendee, I was most impressed by the camaraderie of the attendees; everyone appeared to be old friends. I realize now that they were all united by a common passion: putting diversity at the forefront of our organization’s goals and values.
The theme of the conference was loud and clear: go forth and spread the message (face the “roar”) of diversity. As many speakers put it, the attendees “get it” and therefore bear the responsibility to carry the message forward. Our mission as attendees is to go forth and tell 10 others about what we learned, what we experienced, and how we can help. By doing this, we are capable of spreading a national message improving our workforce diversity and ridding our industry of disparity.
After witnessing the level of excitement at the conference, I am positive that the next Institute for Diversity Conference will have an even larger and more enthusiastic group of attendees!
