Empowered Career Choices

Coming out of foster care, Hanna connected with JIT at age 18, when she found herself with nowhere to live and few resources or relationships to rely on. JIT was able to help her find housing, and Career Horizons and College Bound provided multiple resources and a community of support.  

Life was going well….Hanna was in school and working as a barista at Starbucks… when a car crash changed everything. She had suffered a concussion that forced her to stay off her feet for six months, making it impossible for her to return to serving coffee.  

Enter Pathways to Financial Power, where Hanna had the opportunity to explore new career choices. “Pathways has given me a lot more insight into what I’m looking for in a company or organization. I want to be taken seriously and to see the populations these companies serve are being taken seriously as well.”  

At Pathways, Hanna perfected her resume and cover letter. Through a series of informational interviews set up by JIT staff, Hanna connected to nonprofit organizations aligned with her ultimate goal of working in non-profit child advocacy. I had to recalibrate and ask myself, ‘What do I really want to learn about this field?’ 

A few months later, Hanna interviewed with and received a job offer from San Diego Youth Services. “I really feel the reason I got the offer was because of what I learned in Pathways. It taught me how to be intentional with my questions. I could tell the interviewers thought the questions I asked were thoughtful. I felt confident showing up at the interview knowing what to say and how to dress, which was huge and something I struggled with before.”