YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Were it not a three-month program in construction and agriculture, Jonathon Stevenson doesn’t know if he could pursue his dream of becoming a music producer.
“I don’t think I would have that opportunity,” Stevenson said. “I really don’t.”
Stevenson is one of 16 students who graduated Friday from the Green Jobs training Program sponsored by Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.
He is also one of eight graduates who will take his GED finals next month; the other eight either have high school diplomas or passed their GEDs.
The goal of the Green Jobs program is to provide unemployed or underemployed youth ages 18 to 24 job-ready skills and GED preparation as they work in agriculture and construction.
After he gets his GED, Stevenson plans to attend a program in music engineering in Virginia and, maybe later, continue his work in agriculture.
“I’m thinking about starting a little agriculture company as soon as I’m done with college,” Stevenson said, “but I still want to do music and fulfill my dream of becoming a music producer.”
Mayor Charles Sammarone and Municipal Court Judge Robert Douglas addressed the 16 graduates about the importance of staying out of trouble and not being discouraged when they face tough times.
Douglas warned them that people in their lives, friends or people who seem to be friends will try to hold them back once they start improving themselves.
“What’s going on is that it’s easier for them to pull you back than it is for them to do the hard work you’re doing to get here,” he explained. “You’ve got to know that. You’ve got to understand that -- and not let that pull you down.”
Douglas also shared the lesson his stepfather taught him and an article he had just read about Miami Heat basketball player Dwayne Wade pulling out of a slump.
“When the ocean gets rough, sometimes all you can do is hang on,” he said.
The USA Today article, “James Finds Wade, Then Wade Finds Himself”, the writer explains how Wade focused on what he was doing wrong and then what he did to correct it after his team lost the second and third games of its playoff series to the Indiana Pacers.
Before the fourth game, Wade spent hours by himself in the gym shooting baskets. Just as it seemed the slump would continue, Lebron James made a pass that gave Wade an easy layup and the slump abruptly ended. The Heat won the series.
The moral Douglas pulled from the story is that sometimes it takes just a little help to emerge from the doldrums get wind in your sails. This class could be to the graduates what James’ bounce pass was to Wade, he suggested.
At the ceremony, Sammarone delivered a similar message.
“Don’t be satisfied with just this program,” he advised. “This is just a starting point. Make sure you continue on.”
One graduates, Brian Spade, said he plans to continue with the development corporation, this time in a staff role.
“Because of my performance here and because of my performance last year in Youth Build, I have a job as supervisor for the vacant land crew at YNDC and I have apposition waiting for me with Youth Build in the fall when it starts up,” Spade said.
Spade participated in the Youth Build program last year and has earned his GED. He came into the Green Jobs program as part-student, part-faculty member; his official title was construction assistant.
Spade will continue with YNDC this summer, as will some of his classmates, He hopes to then work with the YouthBuild program and has a long-term goal of running YouthBuild or a nonprofit like it in Youngstown.
“As long as I stay on staff for that whole time, I’ll take over,” he said. “That’s my big goal.”
However, the fate of Youth Build remains uncertain after the program lost funding last year.
“Initially, the Green Jobs Training Program was supposed to partner with YouthBuild Mahoning County,” said Kenya Roberts-Howard, senior program coordinator at YNDC. “When they lost their funding, we still ran the program although on a little bit smaller scale.”
The class of 2012 will be the first and only graduating class of the Green Jobs program unless YouthBuild gets funding back and resumes this fall.
In the class, Stevenson received student of the year award for punctuality and manners among other positive qualities. Brian Spade received the distinguished service award. And G. Brian Perrett received the fellowship award for always volunteering to help.
One person from each crew – the class was split into urban agriculture and construction/deconstruction crews – received certificates in seven other categories as well.
Spade and Ralph Stoddard received the top-performer certificates, José Placeres and Anthony Fultz the top community service volunteer certificates, David Gonce and Monique Talley the behavior certificates, Kendrea Bills and Jordan Burnett the leadership certificates, Demetrius Pugh and Kevin Loebel the participation certificates, Shantel McMullen and Terrence Howell the teamwork certificates, and Latasha Stanley and Emanuel Johnson the most- improved certificates.
Fultz also received certificates for the highest math average and second-highest English average for the class. McMullen received the certificate for the highest English average and Placeres for second-highest average in mathematics.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.