On April 22, Depositing Empowerment through Outreach & Urban Redevelopment (DETOUR) hosted its seventh annual Focused and Naturally Confident Youth (F.A.N.C.Y.) Teen Girls Expo at O’Farrell Charter School in Southeastern San Diego. Since 2010, the event has helped young women of color develop confidence; explore careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) fields; connect with academic, employment and other community programs; meet community mentors who provide ongoing mentorship; and hear from local leaders.
Mayor Raquel Vasquez, the first African American mayor for the City of Lemon Grove, and San Diego City Council President Myrtle Cole came to speak to the over 200 young women in attendance about what it means to be a local leader. In addition to workshops on topics like self-confidence, healthy relationships and human trafficking prevention, CONNECT2Careers (C2C) hosted a Women in STEAM panel with:
- Amanda Cheyney, Lead Program Specialist at the San Diego Workforce Partnership
- Lt. Jackie Perez, City Outreach Officer for the United States Navy
- Angelique Taylor, Ph.D candidate in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego
Later that day, young women were invited to a STEAM career fair hosted by the UCSD Contextual Robotics Institute and Community Business Incubator. C2C staff provided attendees between the ages of 16 and 24 the opportunity to sign up for its online job search portal.
“Our goal as women in the community supporting these young ladies has always been to set an example, be a resource and constantly support them during their times of need,” says Tinesia Conwright, Founder and Executive Director of DETOUR and member of SDWP’s Youth and Young Adult Committee. “We strive to ensure they are equipped with information and experiences to help them tackle many of the challenges they face each day. This year was truly full of inspiration, motivation and encouragement.”
At the end of the event, Cheyney and C2C Training Specialist Taryell Simmons, were honored with the program’s 2017 Community Impact Award for their work supporting DETOUR youth with career opportunities during the past year.
If you are hosting an event for young people in San Diego and would like C2C to provide speakers, panelists or other resources, contact Amber Shevin, C2C Training Coordinator, at ambershevin@workforce.org.