Contact: Jon Reinish for AT&T, 202 999 0461

State Senator Ted OBrien Teams Up with Students from Eastridge High School to Embark on a Road to Self-Discovery Through Roadtrip Nation Curriculum With the support from AT&T and the AT&T Foundation, Roadtrip Nation will produce a mobile-friendly curriculum that helps high school students connect their studies to career pathways
IRONDEQUOIT, NY, November 7, 2013 Every high school student has passions and interests that are unique to them. However, many young people have trouble connecting what they are naturally interested in whether it is playing video games, reading mystery novels, or catching bugs in their back yard to a potential career down the road. Roadtrip Nation is an organization that helps students connect the dots between their personal interests and real world opportunities. Through the program, students see firsthand how what they learn in the classroom today can become a future career. The organization received $1 million from AT&T and the AT&T Foundation earlier this year to produce a mobile-friendly curriculum that helps students at risk of dropping out of high school connect their studies and interests to real-world opportunities. With this new funding Roadtrip Nation will extend its program offerings to 10,000 students in six states, including in Irondequoit, New York. The curriculum engages students in self-reflection exercises to help identify their interests. Roadtrip Nations vast interview archive, which contains video interviews with hundreds of successful real-world leaders spanning every industry, allows students to learn the steps they took that got them to where they are today. To make the learning process more tangible to students lives, the culminating curriculum project sends students out on their own Roadtrips to interview local leaders in their communities who share their interests. Throughout the experience, students connect to an online student community, where they can share their projects and connect with like-minded peers who share their same goals. On Thursday, November 7 from 9 a.m. 11 a.m., Roadtrip Nation will be hosting a live engagement event at Eastridge High School, 2350 East Ridge Road, Irondequoit, N.Y., which will be adopting the Roadtrip Nation Experience curriculum with its students this school year. This kickoff event will bring career exploration to life with guest speaker New York State Senator Ted OBrien sharing firsthand accounts on how education played a pivotal role in his professional achievements. The engagement event will also include interactive activities all with the goal to get students excited and engaged about their upcoming Roadtrip Nation Experience in their classroom. The Roadtrip Nation Experience motivates students to find and then follow their own passions in life, said Beth Adcock Shiroishi, Vice President of Sustainability and Philanthropy, AT&T. By bringing the real world into the classroom and connecting the dots between students personal interests and potential careers, we hope to show the relevance of learning and further combat forces that drive students to dropout. The support for Roadtrip Nation is part of AT&T Aspire, AT&Ts $350 million commitment to education. With more than 1 million students impacted since its launch in 2008, Aspire is one of the nations largest corporate commitments focused on helping more students graduate from high school ready for college and careers. The heart of our curriculum is to allow students to map their interests to future pathways in life, said Mike Marriner, Co-Founder, Roadtrip Nation. With the help of AT&T, we will be able to deliver this val uable program to underserved schools and students across the nation in need of new, dynamic opportunities to explore pathways for their futures.

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 nations fastest and most reliable 4G LTE 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 service with the AT&T U-verse brand. The companys 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/aboutus or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

2013 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

About Philanthropy at AT&T: AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its philanthropic initiatives, AT&T has a long history of supporting projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; and address community needs. In 2012, more than $131 million was contributed through corporate-, employee- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs. 2013 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.