Teens are Job Ready at Boys & Girls Club of Pharr – San Juan

May 2022, Pharr, TX – Boys & Girls Club of Pharr – San Juan hosted a Career Fair on May 10, 2022 at the South Pharr Unit. This fair concluded a Spring 2022 Job Ready program for teens in partnership with United Way of South Texas, focusing on workforce readiness and career preparation. Throughout the course months of February – May, participants engaged in twice-a-week sessions covering various job ready activities including identifying goals/skills, learning resume writing, “elevator pitch” exercises, and exposure to various career paths through a Career Day in March.

The Career Fair, which was also open to the community, concluded the program and allowed teens to apply the knowledge learned throughout the Job Ready sessions as they engaged with local community businesses and college representatives to discuss potential job opportunities. Completion of the course provided a gift card to participants to purchase professional attire for the event and future interviews. Boys & Girls Club of Pharr – San Juan would like to thank every community partner that attended the 2022 Spring Job Ready Career Fair including: AmeriCorps, Bentsen State Park, Dave & Busters (McAllen, TX), Gary Job Corps, McDonalds, Old Navy (La Plaza Mall), South Texas College, The U.S. Navy, UTRGV Career Center and Workforce Solutions.

Boys & Girls Club of Pharr – San Juan MSSW Intern Chelsea Hughes, a master’s student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Social Work, helped lead the Job Ready program:

“Thanks to the United Way of South Texas, and a high quality Career Launch curriculum courtesy of the Boys & Girls Club of America, we delivered an impactful Job Ready program! This was a fantastic opportunity to prepare club members ages 15-18 for their first job. Program participants got to explore their career aspirations and set goals while developing leadership skills. We are very proud of our club members, and we are grateful to our community partners that came together to offer opportunities to young people in the Rio Grande Valley.”