GLENDALE : Students Gain From Job Training Course

Last month, Isela Cervantes of Glendale High School lacked the confidence to go job hunting with her peers.

But the 17-year-old girl’s confidence was boosted after completing a job training course offered by We Care . . . for Youth, a program sponsored by the Glendale Galleria, the school district and the state’s Employment Development Department’s Youth Employment and Opportunity Program.

Isela had her first job interview Thursday with Orange Julius at the shopping mall and is waiting to hear the results.

The course “showed me what to say in an interview, what to ask, how to dress,” the aspiring model said. “At school, they don’t tell you about interviews.”

She was among 33 teen-agers who were recognized Tuesday at the mall for graduating from the program, which consists of two-hour classes held Monday through Thursday nights for three weeks.

The training course is open to all high school and middle-school students from the Glendale Unified School District. Students apply for the program and are eventually selected by administrators at their respective campuses, said Linda Maxwell, a co-founder of We Care . . . for Youth.

Those who graduated Tuesday mainly had problems with their self-esteem and are sometimes considered at-risk youths, Maxwell said.

“One hundred percent of them have come up against the difficulties of an adolescent,” she said. “I try to let them know that they are more important than their jobs. Their (personal) development is more important.”

Grigor Zhamkochyan,17, a student at Allan Daily Continuation School, said the time he spent learning about self-esteem, work ethics, personal appearance and other job skills has changed his personality for the better.

“They tell us not to be shy when you talk to another person--just look at them and talk to them,” he said.