Penelope Osequera is a Program Coordinator at the San Diego Workforce Partnership. Here she tells a little bit about herself, both personally and professionally.
What do you like best about working in workforce development?
My favorite thing about working in workforce development is being able to advocate directly for the job seekers I serve. My position allows me to connect high school students to San Diego’s top research institutions for paid internships (Life Sciences Summer Institute, or LSSI for short) and I love the feeling of making a meaningful connection between a young adult and a world-class research institute.
If you had $30,000 to donate to a workforce development program, what would you want done with it?
If I had $30,000 to donate I would want it to go to workforce development programs and support for San Diego’s DREAMers. I’d like the money to go there because it’s an issue that I am close to personally. I have family members and friends who are DREAMers. My older brother could easily have been a DREAMer, since my parents had him shortly after immigrating from Mexico. I identify with the issues they face and fully consider them American citizens. As American citizens and as a disadvantaged population, I feel that they deserve all the workforce development support that they need.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
When I’m not working, I love to read and listen to audiobooks and podcasts, scuba dive and make art. I draw, paint, embroider, cross-stitch, crystal-grid and recently began exploring the art of insect taxidermy.