“It hasn’t always been easy for me. I’m independent, fighting to get a good education and make it here in San Francisco, the city of opportunity. Over the years I’ve learned how to advocate for myself and take initiative. You know, that’s how I got my tech internship at Jawbone through MatchBridge’s Summer Jobs+ program. MatchBridge works with different companies and nonprofits to help connect youth like me to jobs and internships. It pretty much changed my life.
“The people at Jawbone trusted me to get the job done. I came to enjoy the basic work, like helping the accounting department file invoices, in addition to the more exciting work, like learning how to code and use Excel. There was always free food around, so that was a plus! I’m doing so well that now I’m in talks with Jawbone to get hired long-term!
“The staff at MatchBridge believed in me. They gave me a chance to prove myself. The support and training I received, especially about managing money, was really helpful. They helped instill in me the importance of education and changed the way I approach college. Now I want to be an entrepreneur – hopefully something related to tourism. I’m dreaming big, and for the first time I feel like my dreams are within reach.”
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LaRon Ryan is a 21-year old MatchBridge youth referred by the Guardian Scholars program of City College of San Francisco, which is a former foster youth educational support program and a MatchBridge community partner.
MatchBridge is United Way of the Bay Area’s youth employment program, focused on placing young people in jobs and internships that enable work-based learning. Its mission is to create pathways for youth to gain early work experiences so they will become financially secure as adults. For more information, go to www.matchbridge.org.
