It was great to support Alexis with his efforts to apply for a job in hospitality services. As a recent college graduate, I really understand the importance of developing this skill.  These may seem like simple tasks to those of us who have sent thousands of emails in their jobs before, but to Alexis this was a new venture.  Being a recent high school graduate, Alexis needed guidance on 'etiquette' and structuring in the job field that we too learned from working with mentors of our own when we first entered the job  market. We reviewed his cover letter and resume -- line by line to guide him to see how different grammatical structures and word choices can bring to life a simple one page cover letter. For his resume, we helped condense his experience into important keywords that allow for employers to understand quickly what type of work he has done before, and what type of worker he has become through his experiences. Lastly, we then helped him compose a few emails to both the hiring employee of this job opportunity, and to his mentor from the Hilton Hotel thanking him for the letter of recommendation.

Alexis briefed us on his past week in Washington, DC. He attended a conference with his past mentor Nane, who is on the Institute's board and founder of Barrios Unidos, in Santa Cruz, California. The conference focused on youth empowerment, indigenous voices, and cultural preservation. Alexis was taken aback by the work that he saw others doing globally and the powerful way people spoke at the conference. He was also able to visit our nation's capital for the first time. He enjoyed seeing the monuments and was ecstatic to be in the center of our country's history. We worked through the steps on crafting professional emails, resumes and cover letters, while also being empowered by Alexis' excitement for history, cultural preservation and youth empowerment.