BY HILLARY VIDERS
SPECIAL TO NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.––Responsibility, time management, compassion, dealing with rejection, promptness, and taking pride in their work were just a few of the things that teens in Englewood’s Business Apprenticeship program said they learned this summer.
A chorus of life lessons was exclaimed by jubilant apprentices of the Business Apprenticeship program as they gathered in the Chiang Auditorium in Englewood Hospital and Medical Center on August 11 for their graduation ceremony.
The Business Apprenticeship Program is funded by the Englewood Chamber of Commerce (ECC) and the ZONE, a youth based service of the Bergen Family Center. The Zone recruits qualified candidates and the ECC puts together a committee comprised of local businesses and nonprofits to select students from among the pool of applicants. The ECC also handles all the logistics of the program.
According to ECC President Carol Rauscher, the relationship is very cooperative.
“We work really well together,” she said.
Rauscher also credits the Englewood City Council for their support of the program, saying the entire council voted in favor of the program, 5-0. As per the program’s requirement, the students selected for the Business Apprenticeship Program are all residents of Englewood who are entering junior and senior years in high school.
The participating schools were Dwight Morrow/Academies@Englewood High School, Academy of the Holy Angels and the Brearley School in Manhattan. Since its creation four years ago, the Business Apprenticeship Program has become increasingly popular.
This spring, the ZONE took in 60 applications and accepted 32 students. Twenty businesses, non-profits and members of the ECC provided positions for these students.
The Business Apprenticeship Program gives the students classroom training and business tools as well as hands-on work experience and guidance that will help them compete in today’s job market.
In this summer’s program, the 32 apprentices worked 25 hours a week, July 5 through August 11, including two hour-long business skills workshops each Wednesday morning.
On Aug. 11, the six-week program concluded with a graduation and certification ceremony. The Chiang Auditorium was filled with elated graduates and their sponsors, as well as parents, Mayor Frank Huttle III, City Council President Wayne Hamer, DMHS Principal Dr. Billy Bowie and staff of the Bergen Family Center.
The graduation ceremony was organized and conducted by Maria Mulry, operations coordinator of the ZONE and Olga Correa, program manager of the ZONE at the Janis E. Dismus Middle School.
Rauscher opened the ceremony by greeting everyone and thanking the City of Englewood, the City Council, the Bergen Family Center and sponsors, such as NVE Bank. Correa thanked everyone for coming to the graduation and said that since 2014, more than 140 students have participated in the Business Apprenticeship Program.
Mulry went on to explain how the program worked and its focus on teamwork.
“During the program, we had a competition in which students were divided into teams that earned points for attendance, handing in time sheets promptly and for creating a poem or a rap that represented all of them,” she said.
Mulry announced that the winning team was “Finesse,” whereupon all five team members came to the stage and received a gift certificate to Chipotle.
Mitch Schonfeld, director of the Bergen Family Center, then introduced a video of the 2017 apprentices in their summer jobs. Two of the graduates also spoke about their excellent work experiences. A representative from Unilever described how the mega company sponsored four high school senior apprentices in their own five-week mentoring program through their Leadership Development Institute, and how successful that had been.
Apprentices there were trained in sales and marketing as well as product development.
Bowes also addressed the audience, and praised the Business Apprenticeship Program for helping students build relationships.
Schonfeld then introduced Councilman Wayne Hamer and Mayor Huttle, who presented each graduate with a certificate from the City of Englewood and a $1,200 stipend check.
Afterward, students, sponsors, and guests enjoyed a luncheon.
A program that paves the way to the future
The benefits of the Business Apprenticeship Program are manifold. For most of the 16- and 17-year-olds, it is their first professional experience in the workforce and their mentors helped them build self-confidence while learning business acumen. Some of the apprentices are even offered regular jobs.
Rauscher also pointed out that, “When students are accepted into this program and graduate, it is an important credential that they can list on their college application. It shows that they have succeeded in the first step of entrepreneurship.”
The graduates of this year’s Englewood Business Apprenticeship Program are Britney Abreu, Matthew Alston, Christie Aubourg, Kamilah Cooper-Charles, Glendy De La Cruz, Stephanie de la Cruz, Miles Egert, Amaya Frias, Khalid Isahak, Waily Jimenez, Lysa Legros, Cheyanne Mack, Dakota Martin, Alfi Mercedes, LaMyra Newton, Joshnelly Orbe, Shannon Osbourne, Sebastian Ospina, Jarell Paul, Gisselly Peralta, Katerina Poulos, Anjali Prettypaul, Jacob Remy, Mateo Rendon, Darione Rogers, Desiree Smith, Timothy Stephens, Noel Thomas, Alex Valiente, Lanell West-Williams, Tashianna Williams, and Melissa Zapata.
The participating sponsors were Aylwards II, Bergen Family Center, The Performing Arts School at bergenPAC, Blue Moon Mexican Cafe, Buckley’s Pharmacy & Gift Store, Englewood Recreation Department, EHMC, Englewood Municipal Court, Flat Rock Brook Nature Center, Health East Medical, Infant Toddler Day Care, Kaeos Fitness, Kid Nation Daycare, Lillian Booth Actors Home, Matisse Chocolatier, Prof Physical Therapy, Office of Assembly Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Vincent K. Tibbs Daycare, and WRIC.
When business owners were asked what made the Business Apprenticeship Program so successful, Andy Tronic, owner of Blue Moon Cafe, answered without hesitation, “I love the way that they vet the candidates. They really match them well to the businesses, according to the students’ interests and talents.”
Last year, Tronic said, he offered his apprentice, Eric, a regular job.
“I’d like to keep this year’s apprentice, Sebastian, on as well,” he added. “These kids are really wonderful.”
Lucille Skroce, owner of Matisse Chocolatier, has been sponsoring business apprentices since the program began.
“The candidates they select are all very bright and willing to learn. It is a pleasure mentoring them and seeing them grow from the beginning to the end of the season. Often, the relationship continues beyond that. I have graduates who come back to visit me every year,” she said.
The students themselves and the values that they learn are the best testament to the program.
Katerina Poulos, who worked in the office and with patients at EHMC, boasted, “I worked very hard, and I had to discipline myself to get up to go to work at 6:30 every morning. But it was worth it!”
Amaya Frias helped take care of young children at Kid Nation Daycare.
“Most of all, I learned adjustment — adjusting to new children every week, adjusting to different routines, adjusting to a time schedule. It was really a valuable experience.”
According to Shannon Osbourne, who apprenticed helping elderly residents at the Lillian Booth Actors Home, many of the people there are famous, including former Hollywood and Broadway stars.
“But I saw how they were all so kind and gracious and humble. That’s the kind of person that I want to be,” she said.