Rosa rises and gasps for air before being hit by yet another wave. The salty sea water does not stop her from getting back on her surfboard. Rosa might not be a strong swimmer, but she is determined.  She is here today to learn an important lesson, a lesson about courage and about rising above her fears to accomplish something she didn’t realize she could do – Surf.

Building confidence was the theme for JIT’s Career Horizons and Bridges to Success services this month. Both services invited special guests – CDR Lisa M. Sharkey presented to Career Horizons, and Buddhism Professor Joel Gruber presented for Bridges to Success. Both speakers had a similar take on how to boost confidence, and the message was – “Confidence is strengthened when we are genuinely ourselves and are in tune with the present”.

To practice what participants learned during the Confidence Workshop, service coordinators Bryan and Esme hosted a surf day in collaboration with Urban Surf 4 kids – a local nonprofit that provides opportunities for healing through surfing, therapy, and mentorships for youth in foster care and at-risk communities. On the JIT Network feed, Bryan Mancera, described surf day as a way for our participants to overcome “self-limiting beliefs and find confidence”. 

This message resonated with Rosa, and for many other foster youth like her who may lack the confidence to try new things. For many, growing up in foster care hindered their self-perception of what they can truly accomplish. Oftentimes, foster children do not have access to the same resources or opportunities that other youth may have while growing up. Participating in sports, dance classes, or other extracurricular activities that help increase confidence and discipline are out of reach for foster youth because of all the instability they experience. As a result, these youth often grow up with immense self-doubt and low self-esteem. 

Despite these challenges, Rosa and many other participants implemented the lessons they learned about self-confidence into building new skills. At the end of the Surf Day, Rosa said, “I was intimidated because I don’t know how to swim. I think I drowned three times. It was a fun activity, and I am glad I went out in the water!”

Just in Time participants have been hitting the waves at the beach and on the air. Through Just in Time’s Partnership with iHeartRadio, participants have been empowered to climb behind the mic and share their stories with the greater San Diego community.

“Visiting the iHeartRadio station and being featured was scary, yet empowering,” said JIT participant Samantha who recently recorded her first radio spot, “But Just in Time has helped me feel more confident in who I am, and in my ability to make a difference in somebody else’s life, even if it’s in the smallest way.”

In addition to airtime, 11 Just in Time participants were given an iHeart studio tour led by Star 94.1’s Jesse Lozano. During the tour, Jesse talked about his own journey to self-sufficiency, including overcoming challenges related to his family who, initially, did not approve of his radio career. For JIT participant Alyssa, hearing Jesse speak was her favorite part of the tour.