More than 30 students from Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates in southwest Michigan were in Lansing Friday for the 14th Annual Career Development Conference.
Hope Roberts with Youth Solutions tells us the students were able to compete with more than 100 other JMG students in a variety of challenges.
“Youth bring their resume and a cover letter and get to practice interviewing,” Roberts said. “Some youth participate in a career preparation where they come to the event with a slide presentation on the job that they’re interested in, why they’re interested in it, and the steps they need to take to be able to get that job.”
Roberts says the students also took part in a Quiz Bowl-like competition and engaged in problem solving exercises as teams. That’s not all.
“We’ll put together videos talking about the JMG program and highlights about what they learn and the significance of the program. They’ll record it and then we’ll figure out who has the best video based on presentation and how they talked about the program.”
Teams from southwest Michigan came out on top in several categories. Hartford High School won the JMG Bowl. The Bridge Academy of Southwest Michigan had the best spotlight video. The JMG influencer social media competition went to Hartford High School students, and a student from Hartford won the Career Preparation competition.
Roberts says Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates has been around since 2008, helping high school students to prepare for careers after graduation. More than 31,000 students statewide have since gone through the program.
Local youth who brought back awards include:
Youth Advisory Council Scholarship
Harmony Bennet, Hartford High School
JMG Bowl
1st place: Hartford High School team of, Aiden McDonald, Alissa Cardenas, Dejshay Ledesma, and Lillian Wolf
JMG Spotlight Video
1st place: Bridge Academy of Southwest Michigan – Avery Banister, Indya Street, Sharionna Mathis, Ian Watson, Zakari Morris, Owen Hamlett, Mia Low, Ja’Juan Langston, Paisley Cameron-Evans, Hayden Tiefenbach, Lyndsey Collins, Diana Osby, Joanna Morales, and Abby West
2nd Place: Hartford High School – Allison MacMillan, Alexus Bond, and Kyleigh Stainbrook
3rd Place: Hartford High School – Lillian Price, Julien Rodarte, Erin Glover, and Jesus Rivas-Jimenez
JMG Influencer:
1st Place: Hartford High School – Aide Soto, Brenda Parra, Daniela Delgado
2nd Place: Hartford High School – Martina Blas, Dulce Rocha, and Ami Mejia
3rd Place: Harford High School – Jamilette Vinaja and Jennifer Angel-Constancio
Career Preparation:
1st Place: Rebecca Johnson – Hartford High School
3rd Place: Savanna Bates – Boys & Girls Club of Greater Southwest Michigan
