Student Success Story: Nathaniel

02/23/2024

At Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates, part of our mission is to help students break out of their shells. This may involve developing better preparedness and reducing anxiety for job interviews, overcoming personal barriers, or simply gaining confidence in school. In the case of Nathan, he was able to become an outgoing student who went from reserved to active and attentive.

When Nathaniel came to JOG’s Choices High School program, he was a generally quiet kid, as his Career Specialist, Emily Berbari explained, “Nathaniel did not speak much in the beginning of the school year. He often kept his head down and listened to music.” He also shared that he came from a background of behavioral issues because of personal traumas he experienced while at his old school. With the educational guidance of his Specialist, he was able to hit the ground running and tackle the work he was behind on from his last school. Through hard work and learning different ways to cope through his JOG class, Nathaniel has been able to not only become a more outgoing young man, but he also says that he “works hard to appreciate each day.”

Inside the classroom, he has become very attentive and is one of the most active students. He has shown the most interest in the work readiness side of JOG, as he wants to one day be his own boss as a professional streamer! Outside of the classroom, Nathaniel is an active member of the JOG Career Association at Choices High School and was a founding member of Choices High School Student Council where he was elected as the School Secretary. Nathaniel is also active in the JOG service projects we host and has not missed one!

Currently, Nathaniel is busy prepping for the Career Development Conference, or CDC. He said he is interested in competing within Decision Making, Public Speaking, Business Plan and Knowledge Bowl. As for the future, he plans to work at the Hall of Fame over the summer because of his love for sports. Nathaniel said that none of these opportunities would be available if it wasn’t for him being enrolled in JOG. We are all very excited to see what the future will bring for Nathaniel and are proud of how far he has come.