Oscar De Avila was at a point in his life where he needed support and guidance. The Connect to Your Future program provided him career planning to figure out what training program he wanted to pursue and helped him along the way.
The Connect to Your Future program helped Oscar change his life and achieve his goals in so many different ways. Before this program he was a high school dropout and made a lot of mistakes. One woman, Avis Hamilton, never gave up on him and made sure he earned his GED. If it wasn’t for her or this program he would not be here today. The amazing counselors were there for him every step of the way, by helping him pass his GED and schedule his classes every semester.
Above all else, the Work Readiness Workshops and internship at Rainbow Council BSA helped him be where he is at today. Patrick Hall was such an incredible teacher for a young man like him. He not only taught him how to interview, but how to dress for an interview. Some of the skills he learned were: the importance of eye contact, how to speak in different professional settings, recognizing body language of himself and others, ways to be a leader in the workforce and how to stand out.
Another big thing was maintaining connections with his instructors at Joliet Junior College. They got him an early start in his career, raises, praise, and connections that he has maintained to this day! Currently, he is working as a Network Operations Center Engineer at RKON Technologies in Chicago. He wouldn’t be where he is at today without the support, guidance and motivation from his JJC instructors!
If there is one piece of advice he could give kids in this program, it would be to pay extra attention to the seminars/workshops. These are so important and give you real world skills many people don’t have. Your professional literacy is the key to the world and C2F will give you the whole key ring!