Page B2
May 18. 2005
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De La Salle Builds Resumes Early
edition
LOOK FORWARD
Inner-city youth
gain experience
in workforce
B y K atherine K ovacich
T he P ortland O bserver
In 2001, De La Salle North Catho
lic High School opened w ith 71
bright ninth graders ready to learn.
T his year, those proud students
will be the first class to graduate
from the school as seniors, m oving
onto bigger and better things in life.
And th ey ’ve already g o t som e
hefty resum es.
T hrough an intensive C orporate
Internship Program , the school pro
m otes self-sufficiency by provid
in g c a r e e r tr a in in g , p e r s o n a l
m entoring and paid em ploym ent.
O nce a w eek for eight hours, De La
Salle students go to w ork in one o f
60 offices around Portland, build
ing jo b skills m any people d o n ’t
have until th ey ’re a few years out o f
college.
“It’s really about giving kids
options to believe they can achieve
m ore,” said M ike Jacobson, d irec
to r o f C orporate Internship P ro
gram at De La Salle.
T his year, a w hopping 98 p er
cent o f seniors are headed o ff to
higher education in the fall, with
m ore than 50 percent accepted to
private, 4-year schools. M ore than
$1.2 m illion has been aw arded in
college scholarships.
Rated as the second high school
in the nation and first in the north
w estern states to feature a w ork-
study program o f such m agnitude,
De La Salle is called the “School
T hat W orks.” The program takes
afterC risto Rey Jesuit High School,
a corporate internship school in
dow ntow n C hicago. N ext year, 11
m ore schools in the nation will take
after this model.
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photo by K atherine
K ovacich /T he P ortland O bserver
Annie Nguyen, a junior at De La Salle North Catholic High School, works at UBS Financial Services
in downtown Portland one day a week through the school's Corporate Internship Program.
T he schools are placed in inner
cities by the C hristian B rothers, the
Jesuits, and other religious orders
to keep their historical m ission o f
serving the poor. T he m ajority o f
students are actually non-C atho-
lic, non-w hite and from eco n o m i
cally challenged families. M ore than
80 percent o f the current 193 stu
dents at De La Salle qualify for free
o r reduced lunch.
A large portion o f tuition cost is
co v ered by the program , leaving a
little m ore than $2,000 left to pay out
o f pocket. Still, this is a substantial
savings for inner city youth w ant
ing to attend a private school.
Stephen R andolph, a senior at
D e La Salle, w ill attend H ofstra
U niversity in N ew Y ork this fall
w ith a m ajo r in psychology.
Job-w ise, he said, m any o f his
peers outside o f D e La Salle can
only find w ork in a fast food restau
rant, at a video store o r in a m ovie
theatre.
“It puts us in a pool for more
professional jo b s,” Randolph said.
“T he relationships w e’ve built have
given us a safety net. It m akes is to
w here w e’ve proved w e ’re able to
do the work. It m akes us m ore re
sp o n sib le w ith o u r sch o o lw o rk
because w e associate w ork and
school together. It gives us a sense
o f responsibility.”
A nnie N guyen has been w ork
ing at UBS Financial Services since
last fall, doing clerical w ork with
M icrosoft Excel, clien t research,
and putting together portfolios. She
even attends corporate m eetings
for the sake o f experience.
H er dem eanor isn ’t one o f a ju n
ior in high school, but o f a profes
sional behind her ow n desk. She
w as recently trained to w ork on
litigation m atters.
“ I like how they have big projects
for m e,” N guyen said. “ I have a
head start. It’s going to help so
m uch,” she said. “ It’s helped m e
feel co m fo rtab le around adults.
W hen I com e here I’m not the sam e
person I am w hen I’m hanging out
w ith friends.”
M ore than 70,000 hours o f co r
porate internship w ork has been
undertaken by this y ea r’s gradu
ates.
“T he w ork study exposes them
continued
on page B3
Shattering the Minority Glass Ceiling
Discrimination
still found in
the workplace
Pow erful m inority executives
have som e thinking that minorities
no longer face discrim ination in the
workplace. T he reality is that suc
cess stories are the exception and
not the rule. R eaching the top is
more a result o f perseverance, talent
and am bition than w orkplace equal
ity.
C ontrary to popular opinion, m i
norities seeking success in the w ork
place regularly enco u n ter a variety
o f roadblocks that prevent them
from reaching th eir full potential.
M any find them selves in a “w ait
and see” position w hile their w hite
m ale peers are “fast tracked” early
in their careers, enabling them to
reach executive levels fairly quickly.
U nfortunately, the success o f
m inorities in the w orkplace is often
attributed to affirm ative action or
luck, and not skill and talent. T o
overcom e these obstacles, m inori
ties often find they m ust perform
above and beyond w hat is expected
to get the sam e treatm ent o f others
that have low er levels o f perfor
m ance, and still m any continue to
earn significantly less than their
Minorities often find they must
perform above and beyond what is
expected to get the same treatment
o f others that have lower levels
o f performance.
w hite m ale peers.
D esp ite the seem in g ly o v e r
w helm ing odds, there are steps m i
norities can take so that they not
only survive, but also becom e very
successful in corporate A m erica.
D evelop y o u r ability to p ro m o te
y o u rself. Raise your visibility by
serving on high-profile board and
com m ittees, having your nam e sub
m itted for aw ards and seeking out
speech opportunities. N otify local
n ew sp ap ers ab o u t y o u r acco m
plishm ents and contributions to the
com m unity.
A pply p ro b lem -so lv in g skills to
w o rk p la c e ra c ism . Focus on how
to deal w ith im m ediate problem s
w ithout jeo p ard izin g your stand
ing in the com pany.
D e m o n s tra te th a t y o u a r e ex
ecutive m a te ria l by identifying key
issues in com plex situations, show
ing resp ect fo r ex p ertise o f others,
acting quickly to get a plan m oving
an d d isc u ssin g b u sin e ss issu es
w ith authority.
I xsim the unwritten rules ofyour
organization. The majority o f deci
sion-m akers in corporate A merican
are w hite males, so set out to learn
their standards o f behavior, and
study any nuances concerning m i
norities.
Develop a diverse network and
cultivate strategic allies within your
organization. D uringtim esofm erg
ers, lay-offs and reorganizations,
w hich m inorities are often tw ice as
likely to be negatively affected,
y o u ’ll fare better because o f your
connections.
T hose that persevere, strive to
learn, accept challenges, gain ad eep
understanding o f the cultures and
unw ritten rules o f the organizations
for whom they work, create an adapt
able gam e plan that they follow,
build alliances, and develop refined
people skills, will find the clim b up
the corporate ladder, one filled with
rew ards and achievem ents.
North Portland Bible College
A unique evening college to
begin your training in Christian
ministry or enhance your current
ministry effectiveness. We offer
an Associate of Christian Minis
try degree that enables students
to transfer to W arner Pacific
College as a junior, certificates
in Biblical Studies, C hristian
Teaching, Biblical Lay Counsel
ing, and Pastoral Ministries.
Come by the campus at
4905 N Vancouver Avenue in Portland, Oregon and ask for Earnestine
Cellestine, Vice President of Administration and Student Advisor. You may also
contact us by telephone at 503-288-2919, email: NPBCAdm@aol.com or view
us online at: northportlandbiblecollege.org.
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