Dennis
Dennis is one of our “in-school” Youth Program participants. He is a part-time student attending Southwestern Illinois College who is majoring in Political Science. Before joining, Dennis had never heard about our WIOA program before until one day by chance at Lowe’s, our supervisor’s husband was around and happened to bring it up. Dennis’s mouth dropped at all the services and opportunities our program provides our youth and was highly interested from the beginning.
Soon after enrolling into our program, Dennis began and completed his paid Work Experience at St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department as an Office Assistant for LIHEAP. His supervisor and colleagues would constantly talk about what a pleasure it was to have Dennis in the office. His consistent strong work ethic and positive attitude led to an interview with the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk as his Paid Work Experience was nearing the end. The Circuit Clerk and his staff were impressed with Dennis during the interview and agreed to an On-the-Job Training. Dennis has been working there since January 2024 and has been doing great!
When Dennis and his Career Specialist met for the first time, Dennis had just been in the United States for about a month. He was raised in Bolivia and had lived there most of his life. It was a culture shock both socially and economically. Dennis was able to get proper attire for his new job through supportive services despite having owned very little. Transportation has also been a barrier for Dennis due to him and his family sharing one car. He learned how to take the city bus early on and that is now how he gets to work. Dennis also lacked confidence when he came into the program but throughout his journey and new experiences, Dennis has since bloomed into a confident young man.
Dennis is still participating and excelling in his On-the-Job Training at the St. Clair County Courthouse. Although being a college student and working is not easy, Dennis has continued to push forward – eased and facilitated by the resources we offer. Dennis is excited and hopeful about his future. He is eternally grateful to have learned and become part of the WIOA Youth Program.