Seraphina's* Story at OPP
Our Piece of the Pie®, Inc. (OPP®) empowers youth with the key competencies needed to overcome barriers and succeed in education and employment.
After immigrating to the United States at five, Seraphina moved around Connecticut a lot before settling in Hartford. “I had to attend about 7 different schools, and each school doesn’t pick up from where you left off from. So, education was kind of like a bit of a struggle, she says. Further complicating the multiple school transitions, her family also experienced language barriers. “We weren’t able to understand teachers or peers…and it wasn’t easy for them to understand us,” she reflects.
Despite these challenges, Seraphina graduated high school and enrolled in a local community college but never felt certain about her career path. “So, I just stopped school for a year. I had no intentions and wasn’t really looking to go back to school. I didn’t know which way I should go, really.”
That changed when she met Cecile, a Youth Development Specialist (YDS) at Our Piece of the Pie. Cecile shared a pamphlet with her for an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training, which piqued Seraphina’s interest because she remembered how much she enjoyed a welding class in high school. “They saw something within me,” Seraphina says with smile.
Cecile encouraged her to try it to see if she enjoyed it, and she did. With continued guidance from her YDS, she earned her OSHA-30 certificate and enrolled in Asnuntuck Community College’s Advanced Welding and Manufacturing program. OPP partners with Asnuntuck to provide opportunities for their young people to advance their education and attain certifications that further their careers. She remembers the feeling she had in her first few classes there: “It made me feel like this is where I actually belong.”
Seraphina and her YDS still check in regularly, sometimes daily – quick touchpoints to see how she is doing, find out if she needs support with school or personal items, and offer her new networking opportunities to expand her employment opportunities after she graduates. Seraphina is on track to graduate and hopes to one day secure her dream job at Pratt & Whitney.
“I’m the first to actually attend college and finish college in my family. I’m going to show my bloodline that there is a way for us to be successful. There’s more than just poverty or struggles,” she says beaming with pride.
*This story uses a pseudonym.