Josue

Age: 20
Position: Prep Cook
Employer: 10Q Chicken
Employed: September 2019

Congratulations to our September client of the month, Josue! Josue has made tremendous progress on his educational and employment goals. He is employed as a Prep Cook at 10Q Chicken in Evanston and attends G.E.D. prep classes at Oakton Community College twice a week. Josue is moving full-steam ahead toward his goals and spends every day of the week either at school or at work.

Josue’s path to success has not been without significant challenges to overcome. Josue came to Youth Job Center after a set of difficult experiences motivated him to seek out another path for his life. During his first meeting, he shared with his Career Advisor that he has been on his own for a long time and that he’s lost too many people he cares about for him to stay on the path he was on. Over time, he worked with his Career Advisor to create a vision for his life that aligned with his interests, values, and goals. He was able to pursue a variety of paid work experiences that lead to his discovery of his aptitude for culinary arts. Josue completed the training program at Curt’s Café and was able to leverage his customer service and food preparation skills into his current position with a local Evanston restaurant.

Through an incredible amount of strength and resilience, Josue did the work of learning new professional and social-emotional skills necessary to start building the life he wants and deserves.

These milestones are just the beginning! Josue is planning to continue his education and training in the culinary field to advance his career. Youth Job Center looks forward to continuing to partner with Josue on his journey.