TO OUR INTERNSHIP & CO-OP FRIENDS AND PARTNERS!

Dear OCEA Members and Partners,

Before we begin the 2021 – 2022 year for OCEA, we want to recognize how phenomenal the 2021 virtual conference was this past May.  We appreciate all the government officials, industry representatives, and education partners that were able to attend and bring such lively dialogue and discussion in our celebration of 50 years as an organization. We leaned on many Board members this past year to execute our largest conference to date, and it did not disappoint.  Thank you to those that were able to attend, and we look forward to building on the momentum from such a great event.

In Summer 2021, the OCEA Board had the chance to meet and plan out our initiatives for the next year, and boy, did we have A LOT to talk about.  As an organization, we strive to be the people in our state and region that promote internships, co-ops, apprenticeships, etc.  We discussed our core values along with our vision and mission statements, why do we exist, what words define who we are, and where do we want to go. It was an invigorating conversation, and the OCEA Board is very passionate about striving to be the premier work integrated learning resource to our membership and partners in Ohio. 

So what can you expect now?  We don’t know!  J  There’s still uncertainty in what the future looks like, but OCEA is prepared to meet you where you are.  We are planning on hybrid events to ensure we are able to still engage with you, we are collaborating on new stake holders, we brought in new board members to represent you, and we will continue to ask you for input and guidance.  We have moved beyond surviving, and into THRIVING!  Let’s build work integrated learning together in the great state of Ohio.

 Angie Gorny
 The University of Toledo    2021-22 President OCEA