On October 25th, SERJobs held a combined graduation event to celebrate our students in our CORE construction and CDL programs completing their training. It is always a special moment for our organization when we get to celebrate our clients and bring them together with staff and employers.
SERJobs Training Specialist, Deja King, orchestrated the event, welcoming a few speakers before certificates were presented. The first graduation speaker was SERJobs Chief Programs Officer, Olga Rodriguez. She made one thing clear to our clients– they must be willing to give themselves “permission” to be successful. After that we had two potential employers speak to the graduates about their companies and what types of jobs they are hiring for. We are grateful to MeLisa Minter of ACARI Management Group and Donna Subwade of 3rd Ward Community Cooperative Builders for taking the time to speak to our clients about potential job opportunities.
The ceremony portion of the event came to a climax when students from both training programs stood up to share a few remarks. Lorenzo Cervantes graduating from our CORE training program said, “I’m just proud to have the chance to redeem myself. I look in the mirror and see a man with integrity.” Carlton Barney graduating from our CDL program discussed his experience before SER. He said that while he was in jail, re-entry program “filled my head with hope,” but when he got out he had no luck. “I went to 76 job interviews and was told no 76 times,” then he decided to give SER a chance and now he is on track to starting a new career.
SER would like to thank our sponsors and partners for their time, talent, and generous support of our clients and organization. We are grateful to Rebuild, USAA, DOL, and City of Houston.