- Happy Moments
- Philippines
“I used all the services provided by CI, like the doctors and the dentists. And even the insights [I learned] in psychology workshops,” says Stephanie, “remain important to me to this day.” For disadvantaged youth, gaining the resiliency to continue their journey in the face of adversity is a vital trait. Thankfully, Stephanie found that reserve within her.
As an adolescent, she took on leadership responsibilities, like teaching Zumba classes to other sponsored children and youth, helping them improve their physical fitness. Stephanie wishes she could do more in terms of supporting the organization that helped her get where she is today, a successful youth graduate.
Stephanie enrolled in employment programs in Jalisco just as she was starting her professional studies in marketing. It also happened to overlap with the pandemic shutdowns. She had been studying and working part-time in a restaurant to pay for tuition and other things. Stephanie lost the job. It was devastating.
Stephanie felt that her possibilities for a better future were also shuttered. “When everything closed down,” she says, “it felt like any opportunity to keep developing myself was gone. I lost motivation.”
The small amount of income she had been earning made a significant difference in the family's meager budget. It helped Stephanie pay for her tuition, transportation fees and the occasional article of new clothing. Although it was a frightening time adding to the difficulty of making ends meet, the resiliency she found in Emotional Well-Being courses eventually helped her see a gift amid the crisis.
“It was a great experience,” adds Stephanie. “I learned how to create my résumé and how to present myself in a job interview. It also opened my mind to see what I wanted to do and create my own path.”
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After things began to open following the pandemic, Stephanie managed to get a job in a bakery, as an assistant. Although thankful for the work, she felt as though she’d strayed from her career path, and her dream. This began to gnaw at her.
“I decided to approach Flor (CI-Mexico’s Employability Facilitator) to get more specific advice, independent of the courses we had already taken,” says Stephanie. “Flor advised me on what I needed to work on, what things I could do to improve my employment prospects. I also reworked my résumé, so it would stand out. Then I applied for jobs related to my marketing career.”
It worked: Stephanie received two job offers. One came on the same day as her interview, and she accepted it. “Both employers knew,” she says, “that I was a young woman who already had experience in terms of employability, who knew her skills and what she wanted in the future.”
With your support, we expanded our Emotional Well-Being Program significantly over the past few years. Responding to the needs of those we serve, this program began as a pilot project of 300 participants in 2020. It grew to nearly
51,000 participants in 2021.
Today, Stephanie’s official title is Community Manager, handling her company’s social media communications. And even though she’s still taking classes toward her degree, Stephanie is taking on greater responsibilities, like helping expand the business into another country.
“I am a student who has not even finished her degree,” she says, “but a student who is leading a large-scale, international project. I am very grateful to sponsors and to those who have worked or still work for CI. I see all the good they do, and I believe even more could be done.”
Stephanie’s story embodies the very spirit of collaboration, proving that we can all go a lot further together than any one person can go alone. Her strength and inspiration is contagious, and we can’t wait to see where she goes next …
Comments
annward
May 4, 2023
Congratulations Stephanie and Best Wishes for continued success!
Ann Ward
ycherne
May 4, 2023
Wow, what a great story. It shows what can be achieved with a community of support.
Totoris
May 4, 2023
You go girl!
Stacy_2b8e6
May 5, 2023
How wonderful that this opportunity is present for the children of CI! Thank you, CI, for providing the skills and encouragement our children need to feel capable and confident about what they can achieve in the world. xoxo
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