Reflecting & Rejoicing Celebrating 60 Years of Impact »

This week has been full of our clients’ accomplishments, from young adults completing our STEP employment program to community members getting their GED; there are a million reasons to celebrate!

But before the party, we have to acknowledge some of the participants that left us speechless. We want to tell you a little bit about five amazing young adults whose dedication and commitment to get ahead inspired everyone:

  • Leslie Hernandez: Leslie has grown so much since she started the STEP program. This high school graduation means so much to Leslie & we are all very proud of her! She has always been shy but she came out of her comfort zone, and now she has excellent communication skills.
  • Lesli Mejia is a hard worker. She works as an intern at the Las Bougainvilleas Senior Housing, the staff at Las Bougainvilleas love her. They love her work; they love her as a person. She has accomplished so much and has matured a lot along the way. She also made a big decision with college…she has chosen to go to College of Alameda and will be attending this fall!
  • Mauricia Matias: Mauricia is excellent at communication, organized, responsible, and mature! One thing we will never forget about Mauricia is her giggle and smile. About 3 months ago, Mauricia had to make a big decision that would change her whole entire life. She made the decision of accepting Mills as her college and will start in the fall of this year.
  • Elias Zermeno: Elias is the kind of person that sets a goal and accomplishes it. How do we know Elias? Through the GED classes offered here. Elias heard about our program and became part of it as soon as he got his GED. He applied to college and has successfully finished his first semester! If you visited our 1900 Fruitvale office, you might have seen Elias the front desk. He has grown a lot and gained so many new skills. He is working towards his AS in construction, and we are all very proud of his accomplishments.
  • Bradley Barba: Who doesn’t know Brad around the office? He has been here forever! He was part of LMB, OYE, and now, STEP. He is always in a good mood, always greeting everyone, helping around the office…he is always there to help and never says no. He is very independent and is always positive in everything he does and says. He will be attending Chabot College in the fall!

Congratulation graduates! We wish you lots of success.