Dear Opportunity Junction Community,
I joined Opportunity Junction in May 2001 as the Project Manager working with our Administrative Careers Training (ACT) interns. My job was to manage, mentor, train, and deploy the interns on outsourced administrative projects for local companies. We were seeking real world work experience.
We developed an Access database for a local historical association to inventory its collection. We began doing holiday appeal mailings for our friends at CASA of Contra Costa. We researched sales leads and entered the information in the client’s spreadsheet.
And we did more mailings, so many mailings. That’s us there, using the lunch tables as a workspace.
I’ve lost track of some of the interns in this photo over the intervening 20 years, but others stay in touch. One even serves on our Advisory Council.
I look back on these relationships with gratitude and nostalgia.
We celebrated a remarkable achievement with our alumni this month: together, over the years, they had verified more than $100 million in collective earnings. Because of their hard work, and because they stayed in touch after starting their careers, we were able to celebrate this milestone together. It gives us a window into the scale of the impact our alumni have had on their families and their communities.
The Opportunity Junction Board continues to plan for my transition into retirement next year, partnering with Edgility Consulting. I am grateful for the care and diligence they are investing in the search. I am confident that the leader they select will likewise appreciate the courage and persistence of the job seekers we serve.
