Peter Thebeau (center), a management analyst at DCMA Aircraft Integrated Maintenance Operations Kelly, receives the Judith C. Gilliom Award for outstanding Workforce Recruitment Program student employees July 28 in Washington. Clarence A. Johnson, DoD Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity director, and Kathleen Martinez, Department of Labor assistant secretary for Disability Employment Policy, presented the award. (Federal Housing Finance Agency photo)

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as of 10:37 AM Thursday, November 20, 2014 N E W S F O R D C M A P R O F E S S I O N A L S

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AIMO Kelly employee receives DoD recognition

By Misha King DCMA Public AffairsNov. 20, 2014

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TThe Department of Defense has recognized a Defense Contract Management Agency employee for excellence. Peter D. Thebeau, a management analyst student intern at DCMA Aircraft Integrated Maintenance Operations Kelly near San Antonio, received the Judith C. Gilliom Award for outstanding student employees in the Workforce Recruitment Program during a ceremony July 28 in Washington.

“Peter has been a tremendous asset to our team,” said Beth Rairigh-Coronado, DCMA AIMO Kelly deputy commander. “He hit the ground running as soon as he came on board. There was a little bit of a learning curve since he was new to the government and DCMA, but as a management analyst, a lot of the work was comparable to previous positions he’s held and his school work.”

WRP is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove themselves in the workplace through summer or permanent positions. The award is named for Gilliom, who led the first department-level disability program at DoD and developed programs for disabled hiring and career advancement. It is awarded annually and honors the extraordinary accomplishments of these students.

Thebeau began working as a summer intern under WRP in late May. His first project was developing a user-friendly guide for inprocessing new AIMO Kelly civilian employees. After thorough research, he created a one-stop desktop guide for supervisors and management support personnel to use when new employees arrive.

Rairigh-Coronado said Thebeau also created a professional welcome package for new employees, and he assisted with database updates for a new overtime roster and rotation schedule, multiple budget analyses, and training resources.

He also completed a property accountability system and developed a peer award system for the office.

Thebeau said his job involves lots of database management work and using spreadsheets daily, which are skills he acquired to be successful on the job through the general curriculum of his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

“I jumped right in with very little on-the-job training, and that’s a credit to my school for preparing me for real life application,” said Thebeau. Although the sports management concentration of his degree is specific, Thebeau said “it opened a ton of doors, gave me invaluable skills in the workplace and provided me with the tools needed to excel. I’m sure the (Master of Business Administration) I’m finishing up will provide me even more crucial skills.”

Rairigh-Coronado said WRP greatly benefits both DCMA and the students because it allows the agency to reach job candidates it could have difficulty reaching through normal hiring practices. There’s a cost benefit as well since the program is centrally funded through DoD, allowing managers to hire temporary employees at no expense to DCMA. WRP also provides hiring managers access to a database of prescreened and interviewed candidates who are eligible to be hired noncompetitively into temporary, term or permanent positions via the Schedule A, a special authority to hire persons with disabilities.

“WRP not only provides an easy and expedited hiring process, it also supplies highly motivated candidates who are eager to get in the workforce, prove themselves and bring value to their organization,” said Rairigh-Coronado. “The interns benefit from the gained work experience, professional and social development, increased confidence, and expanded competencies they can take forward in their careers and personal lives. I highly encourage other DCMA managers to look into WRP and take advantage of this great asset.”

For more information on WRP, visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Office website, or contact Gregory Clark at 804-734-2477 or gregory.clark@dcma.mil.

page last updated on: 11/20/2014 10:10:37 AM cm: publicaffairs@dcma.mil

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11/20/2014