Claiming Their Future Careers

by Annie Donnell and Dylan Farmer

In their journey to learn more about the workforce, DREAM BIG students stopped by the Centene Claims Center. Students were enthusiastically welcomed by Centene Claims Center staff. Students played Bingo to get to know each other. Then, students learned about what the claims center does. They learned about how claims work, and how they are processed. A claim, they explained, goes through a six-step adjudication process. During the presentation, a video highlighting the Ferguson location played which provided information on the purpose for why the location was recently developed. The video shared inspirational stories highlighting employees who currently work at the Centene Claims Center.

Students then went on a tour of the facility. Students walked through all levels of the facility, and they toured cubicles, different departments, the mail center, the cafe, and the exercise gym. Ryan expressed, “The highlight of today so far was getting to walk around Centene and see how everyone worked as a team, and also to get to meet the staff. The most unexpected thing about DREAM BIG so far has definitely been the number of opportunities.”

Next, students had a tabletop discussion. Centene employees rotated between DREAM BIG participants to give different perspectives about the company. Students learned about job opportunities at Centene Claims Center including management positions, HR, OIC, training, and analysts. One takeaway was that many employees enjoy working with and building relationships with people. They have seen firsthand how the work they do impacts someone’s life one day at a time. Also, quite a few employees at Centene made sure to reiterate they love what they do at Centene, as well as mentioned how important it is to have a work-life balance.

James’s takeaway was, “The biggest thing I have learned so far about the workforce is that sometimes the workforce can vary in numbers and experience. Sometimes you need a college degree, sometimes you need a high school degree. It’s been interesting to learn about all their stories.”

Participants ended the day with Starkloff staff member Steve Foelsch who highlighted topics such as problem-solving, self-advocacy, independent living, and disability pride.