As the Career Education Teacher at Bettendorf Middle School, Gwyn Christopher recognized that her curriculum wasn’t allowing students to explore the STEM-related careers that will be waiting for them when they graduate.
Taking what they learned from the Start Up program at INJAZ Egypt, four young women started an eco-friendly home-decor company, which produces furniture and lighting products.
Five students attending Desmond College in Limerick, Ireland, saw a reoccurring problem: friends, family, and neighbors who suffered from a loss of manual dexterity were struggling to insert keys into locks.
Seventeen-year-old Rizky Wijayanti from Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, counts herself lucky that her high school was one of four chosen for the Prestasi Junior Indonesia (PJI) program.
JA Americas
HSBC VOLUNTEER FINDS BRILLIANT IDEAS AND A BETTER WORLD IN MEXICO
Rosa Romero Pulido, from Cuautitlán, Izcali, Mexico, had worked for HSBC for four years when she received an email about volunteering with the JA More Than Money program. “Presenting finance classes to kids in a public school was appealing to me,” she said, so she decided to sign up and commit to the program, in spite of the extra time it would take. As soon as she got the program materials in her hands, she felt a surge of enthusiasm.
Meeting students at 7:00am not only meant getting up at 5:30, but also coordinating with a co-volunteer, setting class rules, and preparing for each lesson. But that was nothing compared to how satisfied she was with the experience. According to Rosa, “Volunteering is changing the most important part of me because it touches my human side. I never thought this program would add much to my career, but because of it, I’m now interested in linking personal skills to the company’s productivity. I like leadership and innovation, but turning toward kids and working with them reminds me to remember the most important part of life. These kids have brilliant ideas and see a better world as something that’s possible for them.”
Back at work, Rosa’s coworkers want to know more about her experiences. “When I arrived to work with my t-shirt on and the class materials in hand, my coworkers were curious about my experience.”
While living in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, Ybadiolouma Romy Sthone found himself without a high-school diploma and without a job. He wanted a different life than the one he grew up with.