is affiliated with:
with
and with
Unexpected Situations
When I first learned about the construction trade component of the YouthBuild St.
Louis/Soulard program, I thought it would be too much for me. I knew that I would have to dig
deep within myself to face this challenge. The first week on the work site at YouthBuild was
very difficult. I was asked to level a dirt floor basement with only hand tools like a shovel and
hoe; there was no heat. It was late Fall, and it was cold. The work assignment lasted about two
or three hours. When I finished, I had blisters on my hands and was exhausted. When I got
home and started to unwind, I found that I had aches and pains everywhere. I was beat, literally.
As my head hit the pillow, I began to wonder, "Is this too much for me?" I argued back and forth with myself about staying in the program. As I did, I remembered leaving high school seven years ago before I graduated. I remembered how I didn't complete it; I just gave up. I started to remember how I was so determined to graduate from high school, but I ended up pregnant. I put my dreams on hold just to raise my children not realizing I could have successfully made it with them. Now seven years later I have to set goals that I could have achieved along time ago. I thought to myself, "When will I finish something I've started?" I felt sad and hopeless, but out of this pain, a decision arose. I made up my mind to stay and challenge myself; I wanted to complete this program.
The decision I made to stay and finish couldn't have been a better choice because I have learned so much while attending YouthBuild, things such as life skills, job readiness, G.E.D. preparation, and construction skills. In the life skills class I have had the opportunity to meet professionals that helped me to conduct myself professionally in a conflict or with a person with a bad attitude. In job readiness I receive help in preparing me for interviews I've learned how to sell what skills I have to an interviewer.
The teachers in the G.E.D. component taught math and writing skills. Today I'm learning geometry; when I first tried to study it in high school it was very difficult, but now I'm doing fairly well in math class. In writing skills I've learned how to write essays, something I thought I'd never accomplish when I first tried. I worked on writing an essay longer than on any other subject, but now I'm enjoying writing. Construction work is still difficult for me, but it's very interesting because I'm constantly transforming old buildings into new homes, apartments, and stores.
After six months, I'm still here, and I feel great about myself. YouthBuild has been a great experience, and I've learned more than I expected. I wouldn't have imagined a place existed in which people with no G.E.D. skills could succeed both academically and professionally. I plan to go to Ranken Tech. next. I want to become a building inspector, and that job requires at least one additional year of experience and training in construction work. YouthBuild has prepared me for a career that I'm really interested in. The buildings I helped rehab from start to finish have shown me basically the way a building supposed to be constructed.
Today I'm about to master one of my greatest obstacles, and that's giving up on everything I've tried to be a part of in my past life because it's not good to give up on yourself. If a person like me can succeed with no prior construction training maybe you should consider attending YouthBuild. My advice to you is "Stick with this program; anybody can succeed." The first step is the hardest step, but it is vital. Decide what you want, and have the courage to not just dream about that goal, but take the steps to make it happen.
The author is a twenty-five-year old single mother who is seeking a job in the construction field now that she has learned that it is O.K. to get dirty.
