Last week, Hopeworks got the great news that Marcel Njighe-Tezeh, a Hopeworks youth, had earned a permanent, high wage position at the Philadelphia Parking Authority in IT Support!
This is not just a job, but a transformative opportunity. Marcel described his journey recently in an essay:
Since I was 17, I have taken care of not just myself but also my beautiful family of 7 people. In high school, I had big dreams, but I imagined that my parents would take care of me. I didn’t think about how I would pay for college, or for food or housing. I didn’t imagine I would have to grow up and start paying for myself, and I didn’t realize to go to college I might have to take out a loan I couldn’t afford. I grew up far away from my extended family in Cameroon. To take care of my family, I have had to work overnight in a warehouse and by morning be on my way to school. Sustaining myself all this while has not been what anyone at my age would wish for but because of my dedication to success and the wellbeing of my family, I have accomplished the unexpected.
Marcel's accomplishment is amazing, but certainly not unexpected. It is an opportunity that he has earned. As his supervisor, Jacqui, shared, “You should be very proud of Marcel. He is quite the HIRE and we all are so happy for him.” In fact, because of Marcel’s success, the PPA has opened up another slot for another Hopeworks youth!
Congratulations to Marcel on his hard work and accomplishment!
You wouldn’t buy a fleet of Ferraris and skip the driving lessons.But that’s exactly what many companies are doing with AI. They’re investing in powerful new tools—enterprise licenses for ChatGPT, intelligent CRMs, custom copilots—but leaving employees to figure them out on their own. The result? Missed potential, uneven adoption, and a workforce stuck doing work […]
“Our collaboration with Dell Technologies and NVIDIA isn’t just about technology; it’s about genuinely empowering people. Together, we aspire to scale our success and extend opportunities to every underserved community we reach.” -Dan Rhoton, CEO, Hopeworks Learn more by clicking here.
Hopeworks, a Camden-based social enterprise dedicated to empowering young adults, has received a $75,000 matching grant from The Foxwynd Foundation. This significant investment is earmarked to expand the organization’s successful Recode Your Future initiative in Philadelphia and Camden, creating more pathways to financial stability through trauma-informed technical training and job placement. This is the second consecutive grant […]
