Leadership Bakersfield professionals mentor emancipated foster youth
| Monday, Apr 06 2009 05:02 PM
Last Updated Monday, Apr 06 2009 05:27 PM
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Casey Christie / The Californian People participate in a Leadership Bakersfield mentoring program. Young adults ages 18 to 21 have been mentored by a group of seven local professionals. So far, during eight three-hour sessions, they have visited businesses, learned etiquette of the business world and worked on their resumes.
Casey Christie / The Californian Southern California Gas Co. employee Rafael Melendez, center, talks about his job to a group of people as part of a Leadership Bakersfield team project.
Casey Christie / The Californian Rob Duchow, public affairs manager for the Southern California Gas Co.and a member of the Leadership Bakersfield team working with emancipated foster youth.
Matthew Maldonado has long had an interest in working in a field related to mechanical engineering, but until recently never thought the education and opportunities to achieve this goal were within his reach.
Now he does. "For the first time in my life I feel like I have a chance," he said.
Why the change? Since late January, Maldonado and nine other young adults ages 18 to 21 have been mentored by a group of seven local professionals. So far, during eight three-hour sessions, they have visited businesses, learned etiquette of the business world and worked on their resumes.
Maldonado spoke last week, after the group visited the Southern California Gas Co.'s operations base on North Chester Avenue. They learned about the company's jobs, the skills and education needed for each, and the equipment and tools used by crews in the field.
The 10 young adults are all emancipated foster children, having aged out of the system at 18, and now trying to make it on their own. In many cases, they have not had a parental figure to teach them how to look a person in the eye while giving them a firm handshake, to talk professionally, to dress and groom appropriately for the work place, or how to develop and stick to a budget. The mentoring program is filling these gaps and more.
Last month, the group visited O'Dell Cross, an accounting firm headquartered on California Avenue. That day, each of the participants was helped with his or her resume, had two mock job interviews, and learned about W-2s, W-4s and 1040s.
"I would never have imagined that I could be in an office such as this learning these skills," participant LaJoy Gentry said. "It has made me feel like anything is possible."
The seven mentors are in Leadership Bakersfield, a program of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, and developed the mentoring program as a team project for the class. They designed a curriculum to give the participants valuable insight into a number of careers options and opportunities, and knowledge of the skills, education and experience needed to be successful in them.
"We wanted to mentor, counsel and prepare these individuals for the work force and the responsibilities it brings," said Nicolette Cross, CEO of O'Dell Cross and one of the mentors.
What started as a project for Leadership Bakersfield has become more important to the mentors with each session.
"None of us want to miss a session," said Rob Duchow, public affairs manager for the Southern California Gas Co. "Each time we're with the group, we see how they've grown, and we're further motivated to keep helping them.
The Leadership Bakersfield team -- which also includes Jessica Allegranza of Valley Republic Bank, Nick Gomez of San Joaquin Valley College, Jeanell Guenther of San Joaquin Community Hospital, Tom Pasek of Shaggy Dog Solutions, and Josh Schroeder of Chevron -- decided right away they wanted to do something for disadvantaged kids. After several ideas were bandied about, the mentoring program was chosen. Working with the Kern County Network for Children and Project Independence, the 10 young adults were identified.
A $6,000 budget was developed to support the project. Each of the participants has been assisted with the purchase of professional clothing, and has been provided portfolios, pens and more resources for a job search. Major funders have been San Joaquin Valley College, Southern California Gas Co., San Joaquin Community Hospital and Chevron. Other contributors have been Stockdale Property Management, Famous Dave's, Rabobank and Mike Wright CPA.
The seven mentors bring more than 130 years of professional experience in varied jobs. Along the way, they've tapped into others, bringing in guest speakers and co-workers with other areas of expertise.
Robert Blanton of O'Dell Cross did a mock job interview with each participant. "Taking part in this project was a huge blessing," he said. "They came in looking for encouragement and inspiration, but what they probably did not realize is I am the one who came away being encouraged and inspired."
Leadership Bakersfield is a 10-month program of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce designed to provide the knowledge and perspective tomorrow's leaders will need to guide the community through challenging and sometimes difficult times.
