In Their Own Words: Sarah Hafner, 2018 JTG Graduate

This summer, we are featuring stories by 2018 JTG graduates and offering them a chance to share the impact JTG has had on their lives. This week’s guest writer is Sarah Hafner from Creek Wood High School. 

Being in JTG has showed me that I honestly did not have a clue on how to do an interview, cover letter, or resume to help me get a job. Mrs. Orman has been a great help throughout my senior year and always has been patient with us on learning how to help us get a job after high school. JTG has taught me how to write a cover letter, resume, and a two weeks’ notice to help me be able to better prepare myself for a job. I really enjoyed doing the mock interviews. It helped me overcome being nervous when talking to someone else about a job. The mock interviews helped me understand what I need help on and what I am doing right.

My favorite part of JTG was getting to write my resume and cover letter. It has helped me with being able to sell myself to a company I would like to work for. Talking to John Dwyer was extremely beneficial because he showed us Dream Jobbing. He helped us make our twenty-to-thirty second video on reaching out to companies to see if they would contact us for a chance to work with them. This class by far has been the most informative and beneficial over all four years of my high school experience. I really wish this class was available to every senior to help everyone better prepare themselves for after school. This class has helped give me gain more insight to what companies look for in a worker and how to do my best when applying.

JTG influenced me by me being able to walk into a company with confidence knowing that I know I have what it takes to work at any job I want.

I can know say I know how to write my resume and cover letter to help sell myself and the accomplishments and education I have received throughout my life. Leaving a job, I know how to be respectful and responsible when writing my two-weeks’ resignation letter. Mrs. Orman and John Dwyer have both showed us that no one is ever too good work a job from cleaning toilets or being a CEO. We have to have pride in ourselves to have pride in working our job. If we have pride in ourselves, we can be the best at whatever job we work at. “There will never be shame in working a certain job,” is what John Dwyer said, and that is what stuck with me the most. He also said as long as you can do your best and be the best even at cleaning toilets you can succeed.

My plans after school are to attend Columbia State Community College over the summer to get my general education and work for my nursing degree. I hope work at Vanderbilt in the pediatrics or geriatrics department with my sister, because it has been my dream job ever since elementary school. Throughout the years, I want to pursue a higher degree to become a nurse practitioner. JTG has been the most helpful class I have ever taken, and I will most certainly use everything Mrs. Orman and John Dwyer has taught me. I am blessed to have been a part of this amazing program at Creek Wood High School and for the experience and knowledge it has given me.

By |2018-06-08T19:01:40+00:00June 8th, 2018|Academics, College, In Their Own Words, Uncategorized|0 Comments

About the Author:

Call it John Dwyer 2.0 After 29 years as a TV Broadcaster, Dwyer is President & CEO of Jobs for Tennessee Graduates (JTG). JTG, an affiliate of Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), is a non-profit organization dedicated to stewarding at-risk high school students toward graduation with follow through toward post-secondary education and/or job opportunities. Associated with JAG since 1981, JTG consistently obtains a graduation rate above 90-percent with a full-time job rate at nearly 70-percent. The most vulnerable, socioeconomically challenged young men and women, graduate with self-esteem with the realization and skill set to achieve success after high school. Does it get much better than that? Dwyer, is a resident of the Nashville area since 1996. He was sports director and/or a news anchor at TV stations in Nashville, Jacksonville, Florida; Ft. Myers, FL and his hometown of South Bend, Indiana. He is a 10-time Mid-South Region Emmy Award winner, along with winning numerous other awards. He is also a former Heisman Trophy voter. John is a 1985 graduate of Butler University, where he majored in Radio/TV while minoring in journalism. An avid running (or “plodder” as he likes to call himself), Dwyer runs in Nashville’s annual marathon. (Current tally: 7 Full, 10 Half). He accomplished a goal, once thought out of reach, be qualifying and running in the Boston Marathon in 2009. Married to Lynley, Dwyer resides in East Nashville with his wife and dog Lola. Dwyer served on the Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee board from 2006-2012, and was board chairman for three years.

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COVID-19 Update

COVID-19 Update

JAG and JTG Statement in Response to COVID-19

 As we are all feeling, COVID-19 has shifted how the world operates in a way that is unprecedented for our generation, and Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) and Jobs for Tennessee Graduates (JTG), one of 39 JAG state affiliates, are no exception. The impact of the coronavirus and the immediate danger it presents has closed our education system, directly affecting students and their families. This is especially detrimental to JTG students, who often look to their JTG Specialists and classmates for steadiness and security in their lives.

We also recognize that our students and their families are disproportionately affected by the closure of restaurants, stores, bars, and other service-industry places of work. These jobs often provide the entry-level opportunities our students need to enter the workforce. A difficult environment is likely to continue for some time, so we are in the process to reposition our training and support to make the best case for our JTG students to be considered for employment.

At a time when we must social distance ourselves to protect each other, the thousands of JTG students we serve need us more than ever.  We are responding to and encouraged by the requests from many JTG Specialists to access online learning modules and platforms provided by JAG educational partners like the Skills to Succeed Academy, EverFi, and Tallo. We are excited to see the interest in the JAG Genius and the use of virtual connectivity and the online sense of community – something we all need in these times.

Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) and Jobs for Tennessee Graduates (JTG) recognize we need to modify the way we provide support and deliver competencies to our students during this time of uncertainty. In response to the way business and education are adapting (in real time) to COVID-19,  JAG National is establishing new protocols and processes to ensure full, virtual engagement with our young people to ensure they have the competencies they need to meet the very competitive job market ahead. That is why JAG is providing the immediate recommendations below that are of highest priority, which impact the day-to-day lives of our students and Specialists. Like our world right now, please know that these are in real-time and subject to change.

 

Moving forward, we will have ongoing recommendations that will be built into new practices that will serve as both short- and long-term solutions to continue JAG’s data-driven model. This will help us remain accountable to our students, our partners, funders, and each other.