Jailah with DWD Commissioner Payne, and Governor Holcomb

Every year, only twenty young adults graduating nationally from the JAG program are selected to be Smith Scholars, a $1000 renewing scholarship award given to a student who exemplifies leadership and service. The recipient is able to use this award toward paying for college. This year, one of the twenty students selected is from Marion County.

Jailah is the President of the North Central JAG Career Association and she has come a long way to get to where she is now. Born in Gary, Indiana, she began her life in an area prone to crime and poverty. Because her father was in the Navy, shortly after she was born, her family moved to Virginia Beach and lived there until she started fifth grade at Washington Township in Indianapolis, where she had the opportunity to meet a whole new community. “I feel like moving when I was very young helped me to be able to talk and connect to everybody,” says Jailah, reflecting on her early years.

Jailah was first introduced to JAG as a freshman in high school – her brother had gone through the two-year program and was a graduating senior. When she entered her junior year and was able to enroll, she embraced the program, diving in and competing for the first time at the Career Development Conference in the writing competition. After winning first at Regionals, Jailah went onto state and didn’t place. She was devastated. “It was at that moment when I remember having the thought, ‘I don’t think she had ever had an experience that she felt like she didn’t achieve what she wanted to,’” says Jessica Kleffman, Jailah’s JAG Specialist.

Jailah always says, “I don’t look at challenges as obstacles, I look at them as hurdles.” She came back and won Outstanding Senior and then placed in State the following year. Because of her nomination as Outstanding Senior, Jailah was automatically put in the running to be one of the 2018 Smith Scholars and her stellar resume and essays did the rest.

“I don't look at challenges as obstacles, I look at them as hurdles.”

-Jailah

Right now, Jailah is enlisted into the United States Navy and will be attending classes at Ball State right after she completes basic training. Her dream is that she will be a nurse in the military, double majoring in nursing and athletic training. “I like to have options and diversity when it comes to work and never want my days to be the same,” says Jailah.

Josephine and Keysha

From the Far Eastside of Indianapolis, Keysha experienced criticisms and negativity in her teen years that lead to a wayward career path in her early twenties. After working some warehouse jobs and finishing high school, she decided that she wanted to put her mind to obtaining an office job – but a couple different training and certification courses fell through. The troubles that affect so many job seekers caught up to her – bills, childcare, and transportation left her feeling stuck in a place where she could not take the leap forward in her career that she needed.

Keysha initially came to Martindale Brightwood CDC via the IMPACT program – a state program “designed to help recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) achieve economic self-sufficiency.” MBCDC began in 1992 by residents hoping to stabilize their neighborhood and have a positive impact on their community. With services including homeowner repair, foreclosure counseling, small business development assistance, and neighborhood beautification, the organization aims to support residents at their most important place: home. Adding workforce development into its offerings, MBCDC has worked with EmployIndy for years by offering Youth Employment Services (YES), as well as job readiness training and GED referrals.

After initially skilling-up via IMPACT training, staff at MBCDC took notice as Keysha searched for a job. Her technology skills and general ability to stay organized lead Executive Director Josephine Rogers-Smith to simply say “We need to keep her!” MBCDC brought Keysha on for an administrative role, with YES benefits helping ease the burden of the aforementioned bills, childcare, and utilities.

“People like me just need a little push; we need a mentor.”

Keysha

Keysha found a mentor through YES. She credits Julie Barrett, MBCDC's YES coordinator with the guidance, reassurance, and positivity she needed to stay on a career path that is improving both herself and her family. “I realized that I just needed to deflect criticism, or people telling me that ‘I can't,' and focus on becoming an exception,” Keysha says. She now helps MBCDC handle phone calls, follow-ups, intake applications for homeowner repair programs, and other administrative documentation. It is impressive even for Keysha, who adds shyly “You never know what you're capable of if you don't try.”

Meanwhile Josephine remains pleased with both Keysha's performance and her progress. What she seems to appreciate the most is that Keysha is willing to listen and cares about other people – which, paired with some basic technology skills, can go a long way for a community organization. As MBCDC currently works through a strategic planning process, she is excited to see how they can continue to work with EmployIndy and YES to get to the root of people's needs. “Different things work for different people,” Josephine says. “People here pick each other up to try to really connect with someone.”

Jason Leslie works full-time at Nelbud, a company that specializes in kitchen exhaust hood cleaning, fire protection and suppression systems, and grease trap services. Like many people, he went a roundabout way to obtaining his steady job.

Over the past 20 years, Jason had been in and out of prison on three separate occasions. During his final stay, he made a promise to himself that it would be his last time – a promise that started by making some serious lifestyle changes. While he was incarcerated, he enrolled in a year-long drug-free program, worked at a paint shop, and became a Kairos prison ministry member. Once Jason was out on probation, he knew it was crucial for him to find a job immediately. That was when he walked into a WorkOne office and was quickly connected with career navigator Anne Knapke.

Anne had worked with many people whose stories weren’t too different from Jason’s, so she had a game plan once they sat down and evaluated his job skills. For the next two weeks, Jason went in every day to work with Anne. She helped him create a resume and discover resources, such as utilizing local food banks. Once his resume was finalized, Anne connected him to Tammy Green, a recruiter at EmployIndy.

Tammy likes to refer to herself as “a professional matchmaker,” and for Jason, she did just that. He expressed an interest in heating and cooling and was offered an interview at Team 360 (now Nelbud), where he was told that he was a perfect fit and was hired on the spot! Within a week, Jason started his new position where he excelled immediately.

After working at Nelbud for only three and a half months, Jason has been promoted and is in training for a leadership position. “I was hesitant at first,” he says. “I have never been a leader. I was always a follower, which lead to my criminal past. But now I have a chance to be better, and I’m going to take it.” Little did he know, he had been a leader all along.

“Everyone at WorkOne showed me a lot of love and care and motivated me to keep going in the direction that I’m going. I give a lot of thanks to Anne and WorkOne for what they have done for me.”

Jason Leslie

After Jason was hired at Nelbud, his 21 year-old son saw a major change in his father: his dreams, his goals, and his attitude. His son witnessed a 180 and couldn’t help but be impacted by what he saw and realized he had to make some changes of his own, learning from his father’s mistakes. Jason introduced him to Nelbud and he was hired on. Since then, his son has been drug-free and has been recognized company-wide for living out the organization’s core values and mission. “Now I get to sit back and watch him succeed. Nothing is better than that,” says Jason, reflecting on how his son has grown.

Jason’s lifestyle changes and career aspirations aren’t stopping here. He is currently enrolled in a math course through WorkOne. Once he completes that, he is going to pursue his dream of owning or managing a HVAC company, starting by getting his HVAC certification. In the future, Jason plans to finish his associates degree (something he began prior to his last incarceration) in Business Management at Harrison College. Outside of furthering his education and growing his career, Jason is attending meetings and staying drug free, in the process of buying a house, enjoying life, and continuing to volunteer with Kairos Prison Ministry and mentor others. “I just hope one day I’ll be able to inspire others to do good and stay out of trouble. I’m a good story that if you do the right things, good things can happen. Many people think you have to do criminal things to get what you want, but that just isn’t true.”