WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA received
numerous success stories during our Summer Job Connection programs
in 2010 and 2011. Here are some of our favorites:
"My success story begins when I started working in the Summer
Job Connection program in 2011. I got a summer job of being a
customer service rep at WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA. I got to meet
all the staff. They say I work hard and learn quickly. They give me
work to do when I'm bored and not doing anything so I don't have to
ask for work. I worked in the Resource Room and at the front desk.
I helped customers activate the access cards. Help customers
with job searches. Helped customers with resume builder. I answered
phones, copy documents, fax documents and retrieve messages."
Michelle Jenkins, Intern at WORKFORCE CENTRAL
FLORIDA
"It has been the pleasure of the staff at Health Central Park
Dementia Specialty Care Unit to have employed Ashanti Deshazo
as our clerical assistant for the 2011 summer work force internship
program
While here, Asante has participated in residents activities,
assisted with one-on-one interactions to include social outings and
facility tours, nail polishing and lotion therapy. Ashanti
would take her breaks for coffee and tea with some of the
residents. This was a daily luxury that residents looked
forward to engaging with her warm smile and pleasant friendly
attitude.
Ashanti implemented two complex spread sheets for the manager on
her unit to use as a tool that assists with quality monitoring and
our MDS charting. This is very important with reimbursement
submissions to the state. She further assisted with
organization and annual cleaning of the manager’s office and the
nursing administrators offices. She has a exceptional skill
in filing, typing, and sorting of various documents.
She communicates well with the intradepartmental staff as with
the residents and their family. Her warm smile, soft voice
and willingness to assist in any challenge is refreshing to see in
a young intern position. I would gladly recommend Ashanti for
an award to further her education and skills training.
Phyllis W. Tyson, RN, BS, Health Central Park
Demential Specialty Unit Manager, on Sumter Job Connection 2011
Intern Ahanti Deshazzo
“Although we will not be able to hire our summer interns once
the program is over, they have certainly had a valuable impact on
our operations. Michael, who helps in the pantry, has proven
to be dependable and works well with our drivers. Picking up
numerous boxes of food, sometimes messy, can be challenging and
laborious. I have never heard him complain. ZZ is a
wonderful asset to our front office. She will pick up the
slack when needed and responds well when asked to do something out
of her area or comfort zone. This has been a pleasant
experience for our staff and we wish our interns well.”
Kristy Owens, Christian HELP Foundation, Inc.
on Summer Job Connection 2010 Interns Zainab Turay
and Michael Rust
“Enterprise Florida, Inc. is a partnership between Florida's
business and government leaders and is the principal economic
development organization for the state of Florida.
Headquartered in Orlando, Enterprise Florida’s mission is to
diversify Florida’s economy and create better-paying jobs for its
citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses
in innovative, high-growth industries. In pursuit of its
mission, Enterprise Florida works closely with a statewide network
of economic development partners and is funded both by the state of
Florida and by private-sector businesses.
Elgin’s role was to assist the division with general clerical
tasks to support the daily business activities. Elgin was
given complex tasks with directions only being given once. He
was able to successfully complete those tasks and on
time.
During his time with us he was balancing a football schedule.
Elgin was always on time and made the effort to plan. Elgin was
approved to begin his day at 7:30 which meant he had to get a bus
at 6:45 in order to arrive on time to work. He dressed
professionally and addressed our team with respect.
On behalf of Enterprise Florida, we sincerely appreciate
Elgin’s value added contribution. We hope to see Elgin back
next summer.”
Sharon Blake, Enterprise Florida on Summer
Job Connection 2010 Intern Elgin Rucker
“We, the staff at The Center for Affordable Housing
Incorporated, would like to personally thank the staff at WORKFORCE
CENTRAL FLORIDA Summer Job Connection for connecting us with our
summer interns, Khadijah Williams and Daryell Earl.
Both young ladies demonstrated professionalism and a sincere
desire to learn and work. They were pleasant, reported to
work on time, and always willing to share their enthusiasm and
knowledge along with their curiosity. Being a nonprofit in
Central Florida, we deal solely with the housing needs of the
Seminole County and surrounding community residents. The
requests we receive are diverse, though provoking and often
challenging. They handled this task in an above average
manner leaving the caller ‘better’ after the contact.
Many end-of-year assignments were accomplished and files
purged while they answered phones, handled requests and assisted in
the everyday working of the agency. They developed
spreadsheets for marketing mailers and updated agency referral
lists for callers.
We sincerely wish both of these young ladies much success in
their coming school years as well as their future plans in
furthering their education and living their dreams. Education
and training are the keys to successful positions in the working
world or as entrepreneurs in their own businesses. We do hope
that their experience and interaction with others this summer
helped them to see varied personalities at the work place, sparked
some interest in working in the social services arena, and allowed
them to improve or develop skills in listening more and talking
less as this attribute helps us all learn more and grow
individually.
The Center, as an agency, recommends that other businesses
take advantage of this opportunity in years to come by reaching up
a hand of help to our youth to have summers that benefit them now
and the community in the future. Each business can offer
encouragement and personal sharing to help build the character of
each participant.
Again, we thank you and we are glad that we were a
part.”
Suzanne Brown and William
Newman of the Center for Affordable Housing, Inc. on
Summer Job Connection Interns Khadijah Williams
and Daryell Earl
“The teachers at Winter Park Day Nursery have been fortunate
to have an outstanding group of Workforce interns. Each
intern has shined in his/her own way and for that we will be
forever thankful. One of our shining starts, SamDeeshia, has
worked extremely hard to build a positive relationship not only
with her co-teachers Mrs. Iselin and Ms. Jackson, but also with all
of the Summer Camp Crew Students. SamDeeshia started her
journey with us as being rather shy and timid, but we have had the
opportunity and privilege to watch SamDeeshia grow into a confident
and empowering young lady.
SamDeeshia effectively leads a group of 13 students during
extremely important lessons and extracurricular activities.
She is sure to dazzle our community and the world as she elevates
our future leaders by the way of education. Move out of your
way obstacles and stumbling blocks, SamDeshia is headed to the
top.”
Winter Park Day Nursery about Summer Job
Connection Intern SamDeshia Taylor
“I just wanted to express my thanks to WORKFORCE CENTRAL
FLORIDA. Our Interns this year are wonderful!! the best we've ever
had.
All the Interns are doing a great job, but Devin Alderman is
exceptional!! He is self-motivated, punctual and always very
professional. We have been very fortunate to have him with us this
summer. He helps with everything that we do. After the first couple
of days, he knew what to do without being told. He will be an asset
to any organization that hires him.
All the staff are constantly telling me what a great job he
does.
Thank you so much for our Interns.”
Della Oxendine of the Sumter Youth Center on
Summer Job Connection Intern Deven Alderman
“We have a great crew this summer, but one of the interns
really stands out. Jason Cox is a TREMENDOUS employee.
From day one, he has been highly self motivated and is always
looking for the next thing to do.
He’s an intelligent young man, and learns very quickly.
He has shown leadership skills; the other three tend to look up to
him. Just today, I entered the staff break room at the end of
their lunch break, and overheard him say to the others, “So what
have we got going this afternoon?” … taking an active role in
coordinating the work to be done.
He is polite and respectful to my staff and our patrons as
well. (Although, I don’t need to be called ‘sir’)
I wanted to take a moment and commend him, and make sure that
the WCF folks are aware that he is doing a tremendous job for
us.”
August Calabrese of the Orange County Library
System on Summer Job Connection Intern Jason
Cox
“This summer we had a teacher leave our room for the
summer. Ms. Shenice stepped in and did a great job helping
all of us thru an unexpected transition. She rubbed backs at
naptime, helped with brushing the children’s teeth, served lunch
and was a great help at cleaning up. Ms. Shenice shows a good
understanding of children and their need to be loved and cared
for.
My favorite memory is of Ms. Shenice chasing our two-year-olds
with a squirt bottle and then their chasing her with the squirt
bottle! A good time was had by all.
Winter Park Day Nursery has been blessed to have the
opportunity to work with such a wonderful person from your
organization this summer. This staff and children will
remember Ms. Shenice for a long time. Maybe she’ll come back
and work with us again next summer.”
Stacey Hayes of Winter Park Day Nursery about
Summer Job Connection Intern Shenice
McWhorter
“The Office of Diversity Initiative at the University of
Central Florida is very pleased to have Shantanique (Shay) King as
a part of our staff this summer. Shay is an
extraordinarily qualified student. When given a project,
she proceeds to complete the job in a very timely manner and with
minimal questions. But to her credit, if her
directions are not clear, she will readily ask questions until
she understands the project and the part she will play in the
completion in the project. Shay is definitely an asset to the
department.
We feel very strong about the classes offered through
the ODI promoting diversity and inclusion. That being
said, as part of Shay's summer with ODI, we wanted
to expose her to as many of the ODI training classes as
possible. She has already attended at least three
classes. Diversity and inclusion is what we are
about. So, we want to make sure she takes this away with her
when she leaves us in August. This is our way of touching her
and hopefully as she goes forward with her education
and life she will touch others with our ideas and
ideals.”
Katie Pomp of University of Central Florida
Diversity Initiatives about Summer Job Connection Intern
Shantanique King
“Terrence is a young man with a quiet demeanor, a strong work
ethic and an interesting story.
Before Terrence’s first day at the Southeast Branch Library,
he sent the manager a thank you note expressing his appreciation
for the opportunity to work. On his first day, he arrived
dressed to impress and eager to learn. In hand, he had a
second note expressing his appreciation for the opportunity to
work.
But the reality for Terrence is that this experience is more
than work, it is an opportunity.
Terrence and his family moved to the United States from
Jamaica almost a year ago. His father, however, moved here
seven years ago with a desire to make a better life for their
family. The opportunities presented to Terrence and his
family motivates him to continue his education at a Florida
university and pursue a medical degree so he might realize a career
as a general practitioner.
When asked about his work experience at the Southeast Branch
Library, Terrence initially thought it would be a job – boring and
stressful. However, his experience has been nothing as he
anticipated. He highlights the important lessons he has
learned about how to communicate effectively in a team setting and
with customers. Terrence is also impressed with the Library
System as an organization, its tremendous amount of resources and
he truly embraces the values the Library System prides itself:
Respect, Excellence and Integrity.
Terrence has taken his Workforce experience and turned it into
an opportunity to learn and grow. And that he has in
just a few short weeks.”
Orange County Library System Southeast Branch
Library on Summer Job Connection Intern Terrence
Blake
“This summer the 3s class has had the pleasure of working with
Monique Conze. Monique comes to us through WORKFORCE CENTRAL
FLORIDA.
Though young and still in high school, Monique has been able
to jump right in and become a valuable asset to our team.
She’s always on hand, ready and able to help in anyway
needed. She has also quickly bonded with the children in our
class and seems to genuinely enjoy interacting with them. Her
daily efforts reveal her strong work ethic and caring nature.
As Monique begins her senior year and beyond, I expect we will
continue to see great things from her. Thank you WORKFORCE CENTRAL
FLORIDA and thank you Monique Conze for allowing us the opportunity
to share our class with such a lovely, capable young woman.”
Karen Fauley of Winter Park Day Nursery about
Summer Job Connection Intern Monique Conze
“I wanted to let you know Destiny Jones was a wonderful
addition to my day on Wednesday, July 14th 2010. She was a
tremendous help, assisting me with phone calls to work sites and
interns, answering voicemails and delivering paystub envelopes to
the interns. I was impressed with her professionalism and
willingness to take on any task given with ease. She was
confident on the phone speaking to the work sites and will be a
great asset to any company she plans to work for in the
future.”
Maryanne Harkey of WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA
about Summer Job Connection Intern Destiny
Jones
“The Washington Park Branch Library is thrilled to have Don
Blackshear as part of our team! Don has been a tremendous help to
our staff and patrons. He is an excellent worker, always showing
interest and dedication in performing his job duties. Don displays
a team player attitude. He is a go-to person, showing genuine
interest in the success of the library. At any given moment, you
can find Don shelving a cart of returned materials, helping a
customer locate a particular item, or helping someone in need of
computer assistance. When assigned new projects or duties, he
accepts them willingly and completes them thoroughly. Don has been
instrumental in allowing the Washington Park Branch Library to
complete several key projects for our staff and patrons.
With a few weeks left in the program, Don continues his
commitment to the library. He is much appreciated by all staff and
has made a positive and lasting impression. His bright personality
and strong work ethics will be valued wherever he continues his
career journey, and we wish him the best in his future
endeavors!
I would like to also add that it has been a pleasure working
with Ms. Rosemary Smith. She has definitely been very
responsive to any requests that we have made. She has
answered any questions that I’ve had regarding Don and his
Workforce employment.
My Workforce Re-Employment Connection experience has
definitely been a positive one and I look forward to working with
Workforce again in the future, if such an occasion arises.”
Patsy Williams, Washington Park Branch, about
Re-Employment Connection intern Don
Blackshear
“I would like to take the time to comment on the success we
have found with the Re-Employment Connection program. Eneida
Oquendo has been such an asset to our organization. It was not
until we had the opportunity to have an additional employee through
this grant that we realized the gap that was going unfulfilled
within our work environment. It is because of this that at the
conclusion of Eneida's time with the Re-Employment program that we
realized we could not let her go. We decided to hire her as our new
development assistant. This is such a wonderful match and we have
this program to thank for it.”
Kimber Threet of ITNOrlando about
Re-Employment Connection Intern Eneida
Oquendo
“We have hired ‘Yaritza Marques Tirado’ as a part time Spanish
teacher. She was one of our participants that began as a 'teacher's
aide' in March 2010. Our students worked great with her last year
so much so that we asked her to return for the 2010-2011 school
year.
Another blessing to Agape Ministries International has been
LaVonya Robinson. She began the program in June 2010 as financial
coordinator aide and has been key in helping us track our finances
better and maintain our QuickBooks application. We have extended an
offer for employment and look forward to working with her in the
future.
In addition, we are also using another participant Jill Simms
as a development trainer. She will be contracting with us for staff
development. Jill Simms also brought a lot of human resource
experience, which helped us align our HR department into a more
streamlined department and made us better able to handle a larger
capacity of employees.”
Ahisha Moyet of Agape Ministries
International on Re-Employment Connection Interns Yaritza
Marques Tirado, LaVonya Robinson and
Jill Simms
