2017 JFY Highlights in SMC Human Services Agency…
In 2017, Jobs for Youth celebrated the Taking Steps to Success Scholarship Fundraising Breakfast at the Crowne Plaza. Former State Assemblymember Gene Mullin served as Master of Ceremony and San Mateo County Board of Supervisor President Don Horsley served as the Honorary Chairman. Leslie Lowe and Jenny Carreno received Mary Paskevich Memorial Awards. The Special Business Recognition Awards were presented to Target and Westlake Vision Center.
Jobs for Youth Interns Aaron Delfin and Roldan “RJ” Ditan spoke about their experiences. Aaron Delfin was part of JFY since 2016 and was interning with JFY while he finished his Kinesiology studies at Skyline College. Aaron was transferring in the Winter to Gurnick College in San Mateo to pursue his career goal as a physical therapist. In the past, Aaron has worked at Icy Bottom Café, In and Out Burger, and Helping Hands. Aaron enjoys photography, basketball, and playing the guitar on his spare time. RJ was also a JFY Intern and worked part-time while attending Skyline College prior to transferring to CSU East Bay in the Fall to continue his career goal of becoming a Physical Therapist. RJ is very family oriented and enjoys swimming, basketball, and participating in Spartan races.
Two JFY Alumni shared their experiences during this special celebration. Eric Hernandez is a 2012 JFY Scholar who graduated from Aragon High school. He graduated from University of Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Science. During his college years, Eric worked as a technical support specialist and interned during the summers with the County of San Mateo. He has volunteered with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Youth Leadership Institute as a Mentor and Fellow and was an academic assistant for writing courses at UC Santa Cruz. He was an information technology technician for the Human Services Agency. On his spare time, Eric enjoys photography, traveling, taking long drives, and exploring new restaurants.
Jazzalyn Lamadora is a 2008 JFY Alumni and interned for Human Services Agency. Jazzalyn continued to pursue internship opportunities under several county departments and secured steady employment all while finishing college. As a youth, Jazzalyn and her family were recipients of social services and attributes her keen interest in local government work from these experiences. Jazzalyn is very ambitious and sought out many organizations to provide her with the direct service and administrative skills that would guide her in her career. She received a Bachelors in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters in Social Service Administration from University of Chicago. Jazzalyn also worked as a Legislative Aide for Supervisor Horsley’s office. For fun, Jazzalyn likes taking her dog on coastal hikes, indoor rock climbing, Filipino martial arts, and playing the ukulele.
2017 JFY Scholar Isabela Acenas spoke about how much it meant for her to receive the JFY Al Teglia Scholarship. Isabela is the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, she graduated from Burlingame High School with a 4.5 GPA. In 2016, she was awarded the Jefferson Award for her work with the House of Love Project, which she founded for children in Manila’s impoverished farming and underserved migrant community. The House of Love Project has sponsored over 400 cataract treatments, cardiovascular surgeries and other medical procedures. Closer to home and within her Asian-Pacific Islander community, she is the founder of the Philippine Consulate’s Youth Coalition where she is involved bringing unity to, and presenting issues relevant to the Filipino-Pacific Islanders in the Bay area. Additionally, she participates as a leader in the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club, developing and implementing leadership and environmental science within that community. Isabela is a JFY Alum and we are incredibly proud of her!
Human Services Agency Director Iliana Rodriguez presented the 2017 JFY Scholars:
Isabela Acenas, Burlingame High School
Paola Ayala Amezcua, Pescadero High School
Joscelin Azucena Aguirre, Sequoia High School
Sofia Betteo, Carlmont High School/Pescadero High School
Leslie Civil, Sequoia High School
Jessica Garcia, Sequoia High School
Raul Gomez, Capuchino High School
Jacqueline Kao, San Mateo High School
Xavier McNally, Aargon High School
Rafael Navarrete-Vargas, Pescadero High School
Julissa Pluma Polvo, Sequoia High School
Carina Ramirez Reyes, Sequoia High School
Karoline Reynaga Cazares, Sequoia High School
Vanessa Rodriguez Zavala, Pescadero High School
Rebecca Truong, Jefferson High School
Leslie Vasquez de Leon, Sequoia High School
Zhen Xu, Jefferson High School
Maria Ines Zavala Cardoso, Pescadero High School
Diane Zermeno, Sequoia High School
Haolin Zhu, Jefferson High School
JFY would like to thank the 2017 JFY Workgroup Members for their tireless efforts and commitment to JFY: Pali Basi, Vera Jacobson-Lundeberg, Tiffany Thich, Betty Chew, Carolyn Livengood, Sylvia Yeh Kataoka, Leslie Lowe, Sharon Stefaniuk, Carolyn Woods, Diana P. Lee, Arthi Krubanandh, and Hal Kataoka.
On July 1, 2017, Jobs for Youth moved from San Mateo County Human Services Agency to Human Resources with a bright future. In this new exciting chapter, JFY envisions a community in which every youth feels empowered to take charge of their career and economic future. To this end, we provide support via our three pillars of success—job skills workshops, employment opportunities, and higher education scholarships. Our job skills workshops focus on job preparation and lifelong career success. All workshops are built on the belief that the career journey is about more than getting a job: it’s about finding, and being, yourself. We teach our youth that the best way to figure out what you want to do is to figure out who you are.
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