Staff Interview: Monique Jones
06/24/2024
Helping Young Adults Overcome Roadblocks with Monique Jones!
Our goal at JOG is to help our participants rise above and meet their academic and career goals. Whether that looks like achieving their GED, getting their first job, or getting into further education programs, our Career Specialists strive to help our participants get there! One Career Specialist who goes above and beyond to help students in this way is Monique Jones.
When Monique came to JOG, she was new to the program and was still learning about the mission and the goal of her work. However, it quickly became apparent that she was going to love her job here. Monique elaborated, “I have always known I wanted to work with young adults, but I never knew how that was going to look. I wanted to be a mentor to help instill good morals and values into people to teach them that they don’t have to become products of their environment. When I came to JOG, I quickly saw that this is exactly what I wanted to do!”
While discussing what it is that she does at JOG, Monique expressed, “My favorite part of working with JOG is helping people overcome their past. I’ve been there so I understand where they are coming from. It’s important to have someone who knows what you are going through, supports you, and is there whenever you need help.”
Monique recognizes it is difficult to gain the trust of young adults who do not have the opportunities to achieve their goals making her main focus at JOG to provide opportunities to these same young adults. As Monique said, “I think one of the most important parts of my job at JOG is communication and building rapport. You have to be engaging with people on a personal level to really connect. Anyone can remind you to take a test, but following up and seeing how the participant is feeling, if they have eaten today, if they have all of their documents in a row, and questions like that are all important to help them feel heard and prepared. We want them to have that support system so they can do great things like get their GED and be able to know that they have someone who has their back.”
The hard work of each JOG participant pays off when they finally achieve that goal they set out to accomplish. For some, this goal is to achieve their GED, which results in a graduation ceremony at JOG! Career Specialists, like Monique, celebrate this as a definite highlight within their job. She explained, “The best part of the JOG has to be the graduations. It is a great feeling to see their hard work pay off. It’s also great being able to have our own ceremony to show just how proud we are of them.”
In conclusion, I think the best way to summarize Monique’s Journey with JOG is with her own quote. “Overall JOG has a special place in my heart. This is where I believe I am meant to be to make a difference. I have loved working with the students that have finished their time at JOG with me and I am excited to help out more [young adults] in the future!