When Yesica came to Association House, she was a single mom from the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago. She was facing unemployment and financial hardship. Yesica’s hurdles in finding stable employment included lacking confidence, creating a resume, and a three-year gap in jobs.
In Yesica’s past, she was told education was not an option for her by her family and believed a professional role in banking or the financial industry was a long shot. Upon joining our Financial Careers Training Program, she was very hesitant and nervous about whether she would remain in class, and initially, she was very quiet but observant.
As a result of her participation in our workforce program, Yesica’s self-confidence began to improve quickly. During a Bank Tour visit, she demonstrated leadership and improvement in public speaking in front of banking executives who were observing the candidates for their future banking roles.
Yesica remained in the class, graduating with perfect attendance and high scores on all her exams. By the end of the program, she demonstrated significant professional growth, improvement in public speaking, self-confidence, and interviewing skills which helped her secure interviews weeks before the end of the training. Yesica was the first to receive multiple job offers just one day after the Financial Careers Graduation and accepted a role with our bank partner