It is hard to believe our fall career cohort cycle has wrapped up! Here at YOU Boston, we love to hear what young people have learned in their cohorts and what their favorite activities were.

Baking and Pastry Arts, Facilitated by Brian Reardon 

Most of the participants in our Baking and Pastry cohort mentioned having little to no baking experience. However, now they have the confidence to bake many different sweets from scratch. Some favorites were pumpkin muffins, pies, and M&M cookies.

Media Arts, Facilitated by Nadine Sanchara

In the Media Arts cohort, the group learned various forms of media arts including becoming pros at using Adobe software. Some highlights they mentioned are how to create video blogs, podcasts, and editing videos.

Barista and Customer Service, Facilitated by Kaleena Teoh at Coffee Project NY

Young people in the Barista and Customer Service cohort learned the ins-and-outs of coffee making. They loved role playing to practice customer service and creating different types of coffee drinks.

Fashion Design and Retailing, Facilitated by Jay Calderin

In the Fashion Design and Retailing cohort, young people enjoyed learning about the history of fashion and different fashion sketching techniques. They were also able to pick up on some sewing methods and understand how to build a retailing business.

Job Search, Facilitated by Azia Gittens Carle

Our Job Search cohort has equipped participants with the skills they need to find a job. They have learned how to create cover letters, update resumes, and search for jobs on different job platforms. The goal of the cohort is for young people to successfully find a job and it has been very successful. About half of our participants have already started new jobs!

Senior Peer Leadership, Facilitated by Keia Williams

The Senior Peer Leadership cohort shared a lot of awesome personal growth they experienced with developing leadership skills. Participants learned how to work collaboratively with a team and lead group projects. Many participants expressed how being a senior peer leader helped them step out of their comfort zones by leading virtual presentations and creating agency-wide newsletters. 

In addition to their career cohorts, all participants attended a weekly discussion led by our Senior Peer Leader cohort or a workshop presented by a community partner. The cohorts learned about Employee Rights and Know Your Rights from Suffolk Law School workshops. In addition, participants in every cohort mentioned how they learned the importance of managing money. Thanks to our partners at CFA Society Boston, our young people learned about credit, budgeting, saving, and so much more. These are skills they can integrate into their lives as they enter into the workforce and beyond. 

We are excited to see where the skills our young have learned can take them after this fall. Our winter virtual career cohort cycle begins January 10th. If you know anyone who might be interested, follow the link below to complete the referral form. 

https://www.youboston.org/partners/make-a-referral/ 

 

If you would like to help provide more vital work experience like these to Boston young people, please visit our donation page today.