1. MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sarah Briggs, Public Affairs Melissa D’Apolito
AT&T Ohio Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley
614-223-7641 330-539-5268
sarah.briggs@att.com jamvmelissa@onecom.com
YOUNGSTOWN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TEAM UP WITH
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT & AT&T EMPLOYEES TO LEARN
SKILLS FOR FUTURE SUCCESS
AT&T Aspire Mentoring Academy Helps Address National Dropout Crisis
What: AT&T employees will team up with Junior Achievement and University Project Learning
Center students to share academic and career skills through a job shadow, part of AT&T’s
Aspire Mentoring Academy. Employees are engaging in their communities and are committed
to providing one million hours of mentoring to students at risk of dropping out of high school.
Building on the success of AT&T's job shadow program, employees and students team up for
a couple of hours during the regular business workday. Employees share life experiences and
career advice through project-based activities. Students are guided by employees and learn
how to problem-solve in a team setting. Employees also encourage students to take the
pledge not to text and drive through AT&T's It Can Wait movement. Finally, students learn
how to manage their own digital footprint.
Who: Approximately 47 students
AT&T employees
State Senator Joe Schiavoni
When: Friday, May 24, 2013
12:00 p.m.
Where: AT&T, 2933 Salt Springs Road, Youngstown
Background:
According to a March 19, 2012, report by Civic Enterprises, one in four students – more than 1
million each year – fails to graduate with their class.
On average, a high school dropout earns 25 percent less during the course of his or her
lifetime compared with a high school graduate and 57 percent less than a college graduate
with a bachelor's degree, according to “The College Payoff,” Georgetown University Center
on Education and Workforce [August 2011].

2. "The partnership between Junior Achievement and AT&T in the Mahoning Valley provides
real-world career experiences for our high school students so they can learn about potential
careers in the telecommunications industry, and hopefully, decide to stay in school and pursue
a career right here in our backyard,” said State Senator Joe Schiavoni.
“When caring adults take time out of their busy day to share new skills and knowledge,
students are able to make connections between what they learn in school and what their
future career may hold,” said Michele Merkel, President, Junior Achievement of Mahoning
Valley, Inc. “We are very pleased to participate in AT&T’s job shadow program, as it
energizes the students and it’s evident that the employees really enjoy the experience as
well!”
Aspire Mentoring Academy is a part of AT&T Aspire, AT&T’s $350 million investment in
education, which is among the most significant U.S. corporate educational initiatives. The
program, which has impacted over 1 million students in all 50 states since its initial launch in
2008, drives innovation in education through proven programs that address the high school
dropout crisis and taps into the power of personal connections involving many of AT&T’s
approximately 240,000 employees.
“We are honored to work with wonderful educators and community leaders who dedicate their
life to shaping the next generation each and every day,” said Steve Kristan, Director of
External Affairs for AT&T Ohio. “Aspire Mentoring Academy provides the opportunity for
employees to be a memorable person in a young person’s life – helping students stay on track
to graduate from high school and succeed in college, the workforce and beyond.”
To learn more about Aspire Mentoring Academy, please visit www.att.com/aspirementoring/
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored
companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers
of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources
that includes the nation’s largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed
Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless
coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most
countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands.
The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the
world.
Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries
and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are
available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our
news on Twitter at @ATT.
About Community Engagement at AT&T
At AT&T, Community Engagement means engaging our employees to build healthy, connected, and
thriving communities where we live and do business. Employees are focused on three key issues:
improving educational outcomes, building sustainable communities and promoting the responsible use
of technology. In 2012, employees and retirees donated more than 5.8 million hours of time to
community outreach activities and pledged more than $34.8 million for charities of their choice through
employee giving. Employees also committed to more than 23,500 sustainable choices through Do One
Thing (DOT), which invites employees to make small, everyday choices that add up to a big positive
impact for themselves, the community and/or the company.
About Junior Achievement® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young
people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement

3. provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work
readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 126 individual area operations reach more
than four million students in the United States, with an additional 5.7 million students served by
operations in 122 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.
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