NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A 10-week job training program that put 472 young adults to work this summer has come to a close.
The participants — ages 16 to 24 — celebrated their success on Thursday during a ceremony at the Marriott at City Center.
“I’ve come a long way,” said Carissa Allen, an aspiring makeup artist.
Allen, 21, worked part-time at Ava J’s Curvy Boutique in Hampton — one of 60 organizations that partnered with the City of Newport News for the Summer Training & Education Program (STEP).
The goal is to teach young adults life and work skills through on-the-job training.
“I’m very reserved and shy and I’ve learned if I don’t put myself out there than nothing will come to me,” said Allen. “I have to go after it myself.”
This fall, the Heritage High School graduate has enrolled in cosmetology school. STEP, which is funded through the city’s Youth & Gang Violence Prevention office, is helping pay some of Allen’s tuition.
MaRhonda Echols, coordinator, says the city spends about $1 million on STEP to include the participants’ wages.
“We don’t just want to say ‘be better,’ We don’t just want to say ‘do something different.’ We are willing to step up,” she said. “We are changing families. We are changing communities. I really think it’s a small investment.”
Echols says she hopes the participants’ peers see that hope and opportunity exist in the Newport News community and beyond.
The city says nearly 1,900 young adults have completed the program over the last five summers.
