Posts by Ashley Thornton
Youth Get Work Experience. Employers get Subsidized Employees. CIS Subsidized Work Experience Program is a Win-Win!
by Kayla Zollinger Many people think of Communities In Schools of the Heart of Texas as a school based program where our staff are positioned at campuses throughout the Heart of Texas serving K-12. What many people do not realize is that CIS-HOT also serves youth and young adults who are often referred to as…
Read MoreHolding Space for Grief: Loss and Finding a New Normal
By Jennifer Alumbaugh, LMFT I’ve had a few, what I like to call “Job years” in my life, those seasons when the hits just keep on coming and I’ve barely recovered my breath from one loss while I’m learning of the next one. I had my first Job year when I was 8/9: my parents…
Read MoreFinancial Freedom: A Personal Approach
(Note: This is the first installment of what is intended to be an on-going series on financial literacy. Two of the Prosper Waco goals have to do with accumulating wealth: (1) Reduce the percentage of Waco-area households living without three months’ worth of savings if they were not able to work. (2) More than 50…
Read MoreWhy I chose to go to UNT
by Diego Loredo Trying to decide what college to go is intimidating. While I was at A.J. Moore Academy, and later University High School, I never really thought about college and what I wanted to do with my life. It wasn’t until senior year that I actually started thinking about it. Senior year was hectic,…
Read MoreCareers for the 21st Century: Using Labor Market Information (LMI) to Help Meet the Needs of Career and Technology (CTE) Students
(The Heart of Texas P-20 Council includes representatives from K-12 education, higher education and employers. They meet regularly to help coordinate efforts to launch our young people into productive lives as workers and citizens. This post is one in a monthly series of posts intended to share information about the work of this important group…
Read MoreFor this GWAMA Grad, the Sky is not the Limit…it’s the Goal!
by Victoria La Barre I am a 2015 Waco High School graduate and Greater Waco Advanced Manufacturing Academy (GWAMA) alumna. GWAMA is a regional magnet program that provides classes in Welding, Robotics, and Precision Metal Manufacturing. Eleven surrounding school districts participate in the program. From my personal experience, GWAMA provides an amazing opportunity that opens…
Read MoreCalling all Millennials to help Curb the National Debt!
by Saul Cornejo Bravo Throughout history there have been many times when the youth, frustrated by issues affecting society, have rallied together to invoke change in our nation. In previous decades, those issues included civil rights, education, the Vietnam War, and free speech. What made the movements of these past generations successful was hope that…
Read MorePractically Pikasso: Creating Wellness & Fostering Community
by Jenuine Poetess I recently purchased a couple of plain end tables to use in my new office. I got them for a great (read: cheap) price at a local discount home goods store but they lacked a certain…something. As I was looking at them, the thought occurred to me, “These would look awesome with…
Read MoreWhat is Project Link? Can you tell me how it works again?
by Natalie James About Project Link Three years ago, the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation, under the leadership of Executive Director Tom Stanton, began exploring ways to increase the rate of post-secondary success for Waco-area high school and college students. Over the course of many months, a group of about 40 individuals from local school…
Read MoreProsper Waco: Moving Forward In 2016
by Christina Helmick The start of a new year means starting new things, right? Prosper Waco is starting the new year by working on collaborative and partner-led projects, supporting and facilitating collaborative grant applications, and engaging the community each step of the way. The projects the Prosper Waco backbone and community partners are working on…
Read More