Twenty-five Future for Lompoc Youth Class of 2022 Career Readiness Academy graduates are joined by five peer mentors and community leaders during a graduation ceremony held at the Dick Dewees Senior Center in Lompoc.
Future for Lompoc Youth Vice President DeVika Stalling presents a gold trophy award to a 2022 Career Readiness Academy graduate during a ceremony held on Dec. 7 at the Dick Dewees Senior Center in Lompoc.
Local community members supporting the Future for Lompoc Youth 2022 Career Readiness program include from left, Dr. Genevieve Siwabessy, Allan Hancock Associate Superintendent/ Vice President Student Services; DeVika Stalling, FUTURE for Lompoc Youth Vice President; Lana Huyck, Lompoc High School, counseling department; Celeste Pico, Lompoc High School principal; Blanca Lopez; Frankie Maldonado, Allan Hancock College Career Academy; Mayor Jenelle Osborne; Tim Harrington, FUTURE for Lompoc Youth treasurer; Ramon Silva, Allan Hancock College Corps Fellow; and Chuck Madson, FUTURE for Lompoc Youth president.
A group of 25 Career Readiness Academy graduates each received a golden statue award and diploma during a ceremony held Dec. 7 at the Dick Dewees Senior Center in Lompoc.
Twenty-five Future for Lompoc Youth Class of 2022 Career Readiness Academy graduates are joined by five peer mentors and community leaders during a graduation ceremony held at the Dick Dewees Senior Center in Lompoc.
Contributed, OsePhotos
Future for Lompoc Youth Vice President DeVika Stalling presents a gold trophy award to a 2022 Career Readiness Academy graduate during a ceremony held on Dec. 7 at the Dick Dewees Senior Center in Lompoc.
Future for Lompoc Youth recently graduated a second class of the Career Readiness Academy after the group successfully completed a 12-week intensive training program geared toward preparing students for life after high school.
The group of 25 — comprised of local juniors and seniors — each received a golden trophy award and diploma during a graduation ceremony held Dec. 7 at the Dick Dewees Senior Center in Lompoc.
Graduates were joined in celebration by families, friends, and members of the community including Mayor Jenelle Osborne, Frankie Maldonado with Allan Hancock College Career Academy, Lompoc High School Principal Celeste Pico and counselor Lana Huyck, as well as special peer mentors.
The academy this year, which added seven more participants than its first wave of 18 who graduated in 2021, also launched a peer mentorship program made up of five students, including Lompoc High School senior Matthias Taylor.
Taylor, 17, a 2021 Future academy graduate who plans to major in English and become a lawyer, felt compelled to pay it forward.
Local community members supporting the Future for Lompoc Youth 2022 Career Readiness program include from left, Dr. Genevieve Siwabessy, Allan Hancock Associate Superintendent/ Vice President Student Services; DeVika Stalling, FUTURE for Lompoc Youth Vice President; Lana Huyck, Lompoc High School, counseling department; Celeste Pico, Lompoc High School principal; Blanca Lopez; Frankie Maldonado, Allan Hancock College Career Academy; Mayor Jenelle Osborne; Tim Harrington, FUTURE for Lompoc Youth treasurer; Ramon Silva, Allan Hancock College Corps Fellow; and Chuck Madson, FUTURE for Lompoc Youth president.
Contributed, OsePhotos
"Future in general just helped me a lot," Taylor said, recalling his experience as a first-year student in the program. "And I felt like I wanted to give back."
He noted that a few of his friends, who he was able to support, participated in this year's program.
"Last year was pretty rough for me, coming back from COVID — and your junior year is typically known to be the hardest year in high school. It was a difficult year," Taylor said.Â
The 12-week program, designed to guide local high school juniors and seniors with planning for life after high school, offers a series of weekly modules related to career readiness that included lessons in: communication and integrity, trust and team work, focus, problem-solving and adaptability; leadership and professional development, and negotiations.Â
New students also take a trip to Hancock College where etiquette and clothing attributed to "dressing for success" are taught as part of the "Career Closet Field Trip" module.
According to Taylor, the mentorship program elevated his overall experience, helping him to better understand what it is to be accountable.
"As a mentor I was more responsible, not just for my experience, but for others' experience," he said, more like "a role-model type" and "less sitting back."
Taylor and his mentor peers also participated in the program alongside first-time students, but in a different capacity. He said he contributed to the program with greater perspective than last year by sharing his experience with applying for colleges and scholarships.
"That's what I think I really brought to the program," he noted.
A group of 25 Career Readiness Academy graduates each received a golden statue award and diploma during a ceremony held Dec. 7 at the Dick Dewees Senior Center in Lompoc.
Contributed, OsePhotos
According to Chuck Madsen, Future for Lompoc Youth president, the mentorship program was something spontaneous and unplanned.
"Peer mentors have graduated and voluntarily come back to support this year's academy — something we had not planned for, but that truly speaks for itself," he said. "When one of our main goals is to teach them how powerful the act of 'giving back' is, we are witnessing an everlasting change."
Madsen said witnessing each individual academy member — student and as a group — committed to bettering themselves and each other, "has been truly inspiring."
In January, many of the new graduating class will head to the Customer Service Academy, which is slated to begin in January and conclude in June, Madsen said. The program includes activities such as mock interviews conducted by local businesses including Lompoc hospital, City of Lompoc and LUSD, a trip to UCSB and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
"We are so proud of this, the second graduating class, of Lompoc’s Career Readiness Academy," Madsen said. "This is just the beginning of their journey and we are so grateful to be part of that. These are Lompoc's FUTURE leaders."
