May 19—Help has arrived for Mesa students lost in the real-world job market.
Jobs for Arizona's Graduates has collaborated with Grad Solutions to open up a hub for East Valley students at 2055 South Power Road in Mesa.
This new community-based program will offer career and life services to help young people succeed. The program recently held its annual Graduates Career Development Conference at the Mesa Convention Center with Arizona Coyotes President & CEO Xavier Gutierrez as the guest speaker.
"It's a very powerful program," he said. "What we're seeing is the future of this state, the future of this community."
Mesa Mayor John Giles said he's committed to the program that's finally coming to the region and lauded the opening of the group's East Hub.
"We're very committed to this cause and very proud of the achievements of this crowd," he said.
The day's festivities started as more than 600 students competed in 24 contests in a variety of areas including public speaking, resume building and tire changing.
Students enjoyed a hearty luncheon and awards ceremony that culminated their year-long, 21-month cycle in the program by saw the distribution of 50 scholarships totaling more than $52,000.
More than 1,000 people filled the Mesa Convention Center to celebrate the student's completion of the program, but JAG will continue to follow-up with them for a year after to ensure they have become gainfully employed.
Graciela Garcia Candia joined the program in 1982 as part of Northern Arizona University and launched it as its own nonprofit in 1990.
She said the program helps identify an individual's career passions, strengths and skills from they meet them and help them with employment, post-secondary, trades or the military.
"Not everybody is slated to go on into post-secondary education," she said. "We hope to provide them all their options and then provide them the opportunity to visit those employers."
Candia said the organization had programs at Westwood and Mesa high schools but those ended in 1984.
"Now, with this new hub opening up and the collaboration, we hope to continue to and serve more and more of the students through our in-school programming," Candia said.
She said they continue to work with the City of Mesa and will contact the superintendent of Mesa Public School to restart a program for its students.
The organization has 22 programs statewide including 16 at the high school level, four at the middle school level and two community-based programs.
Candia's family immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 3 and has served as the president of the organization since 2003.
In the meantime, she said the East Hub location at Power and Baseline Road will work to refocus academics by offering career and life services — including free wi-fi, laptops, food pantry and clothing closet to get students business attire.
She said the pandemic disconnected young people from their academics and that she hopes Jobs for Arizona's Graduates can help them refocus by partnering with local companies in the area.
"Part of the JAG programming is that we help them identify that career path and then find them companies and organizations that will allow them to start working," she said.
Candia knows firsthand the importance of guiding young people through all their options.
Her son told her he wanted to work with his hands and now works as an auto technician "making very good money."
"But he was not interested in going to that traditional four-year university like his father and me," she said.
She said her own life experience helped her find her "purpose" to help students navigate all the options available to them.
She said she felt "unprepared" but thanks to the sponsor of her high school's 4H club and her brother attending the University of Arizona, she found college.
But even after graduating college, she said still felt lost and landed on a life in career services, and she said she vowed to help other students avoid the struggle she endured.
"It's really important for me that every student who leaves high school understands their options and that they know how to advocate for themselves," said Candia, who is retiring this year.
Arizona Corporate Commissioner Anna Tovar stands as an alumnus of the program.
Born and raised in Tolleson, she attended Tolleson High School and attended the program her junior and senior not realizing how important it would become to her.
"I didn't know I needed it but I needed it at the time," she said.
She received her first paid internship at Salt River Project.
After attending community college, she would go on to attend Arizona State University where she graduated in 1995 with a bachelor's in elementary education.
Since then, she's worked as a teacher before working her up the political ladder to a state-level elected office she began serving in January 2021.
Now, she serves on the board of Jobs for America's Graduates — the national-level program — along with Gov. Doug Ducey.
She said the "JAG family" became the first adult outside of her family that helped her realize her true potential.
"I could succeed at anything regardless of the barriers put in front of me, she said.
