CYC celebrates 'Jumpstarting our Future'
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CYC students from Oyler at annual event. |
Several hundred youth enrolled in Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates gathered April 24 at Sharonville Convention Center for JCG's annual Career Development Conference.
JCG, a program of Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, challenged the youth to put together business plans for a new sandwich wrap for teens, a new charter school, and a healthy activity to get students moving. Student teams in each category competed with each other and were judged by coaches from Cintas, US Bank Arena, Cincinnati Cooks and Citi.
The day was capped by a luncheon speech from Tahja LaFlore, a student at Western Hills University High School. LaFlore won first place in public speaking from Jobs for Ohio Graduates at its statewide competition.
71 graduate from Literacy Center West
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Happy graduates throw caps into the air after ceremony at Elder High School. |
As an audience packed with proud family and friends cheered, graduates from Literacy's adult and youth programs took to the stage to get their diploma. Cincinnati State was named Partnership of the Year for the intense work Mary Horan and Bari Ewing did to test as many people as possible in the last quarter of 2013 before the 2014 GED launched.
Lexus Goodman was named The Next Level's female Student of the Year, while Rico Miller was named The Next Level Male Student of the Year. The Next Level is the WIA-funded youth program that Literacy operates.
"Our lives are better because you spent time with us," said Chellie McLellan, Income Impact Manager at Santa Maria, to the students before the ceremony. "You showed up every day!"
"You are some of the most resilient people I know," said Education Manager Becki Griswold, who is leaving Literacy after three years to teach middle-school math. "Now it's your turn, my baby geniuses."
Learning the pre-apprenticeship ropes
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Morio Cathey puts a connector on cable wire. |
Eight young men from Literacy Center West and Lighthouse Youth Services are completing a 5-week pre-apprenticeship program called 3CRC at the IBEW/NECA Electrical Training Center. Those who successfully complete the program will graduate with entry-level manufacturing and construction credentials, as well as additional grounding in math. More importantly, the course will give the youth a better chance of being accepted into apprenticeships in the building trades, from electricians to carpenters to glaziers and pipefitters.
A grant from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions is funding the training. The SWORWIB coordinated with Area 13's WIA youth providers to find appropriate candidates for the cohort class.
"This is one of the youngest and smartest groups I have ever taught," said instructor Glen Grosardt, an insulator by trade and veteran apprenticeship instructor. "They are energetic and ask lots of good questions."
On May 8, the class had "Tool Day." Chris Fridel, an electrician and director of the Greater Cincinnati Apprenticeship Council, led the class in stripping cable wires and attaching them properly to connectors. He challenged the students to a contest, which Morio Cathey, 21, won handily. "I love it," Cathey said of the training. He hopes to enter the electrician apprenticeship program, and said he takes the program seriously. "I take my notes home every night and type them into my computer. I'm learning .... This is the start of my career."
Casey staffer tours youth sites
Allison Gerber, Senior Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, visited Cincinnati April 28-29 to find out more about the SWORWIB's WIA youth programs and providers and in particular the pre-apprenticeship class currently being held at the IBEW/NECA Electrical Training Center. The Casey Foundation is one of the funders for that program. Gerber visited Woodward Career Technical High School and Oyler School. She also stopped by a house in Price Hill being rehabbed by Easter Seals TriState YouthBuild program.
Introducing Anthony Steagall
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Anthony Steagall and JCG specialist LaStarr Rivers. |
The newest member of the Emerging Workforce Development Council's Youth Perspective Team is Anthony Steagall, 17, a senior at Aiken New Career Tech High School graduating May 23 at Xavier's Cintas Center. Anthony will be attending Wright State University, where he plans to major in sports science, and hopes to become a personal trainer.
"Growing up, I was heavier," he said. "In high school, I started working out. Working out has become a passion for me, and I would like to help other people get into shape." Anthony plays first base on Aiken's varsity baseball team.
Like many students in CYC's JCG program, Anthony is a high achiever. He is president of Aiken's Career Association (his stepbrother, Raniko Reeves, is vice president). "I found out through JCG that I'm a pretty good leader. I'm confident speaking in front of people," he said. He loves the teamwork that JCG encourages, as well as the dedication to community service. JCG's Aiken community service project was a food drive for Freestore Foodbank.
"JCG has been most valuable in teaching me how to present myself in a professional environment, how to dress, how to act," Anthony said.
Anthony says he has learned a number of things with the help of LaStarr Rivers, the JCG specialist at Aiken. "Slacking is not tolerated," he said with a laugh as Rivers nodded. "Nor cell phones nor sleeping in class.
"High school is just one step in your life," he added. "I've learned I've got to be prepared to stay on the right track."
Anthony is a first-generation college student and has won a $10,000 scholarship to attend Wright State.