Eleven students will graduate today from the CSA Building Futures construction pre-apprenticeship class. Last Friday, the students met with employers to hear about what they look for in an employee, and the students shared stories of their own struggles to become quality workers. Job Developer Tia Watkins welcomed the panel and after each of the employers gave brief introductions, she facilitated a very practical, frank, and at times emotional discussion among the employers and students, ranging from how to resolve conflict on the job to ways to advance in careers. The session ended with one of the students asking if he could speak to the group to thank the employers and to encourage his classmates. He shared the trauma of being homeless at age 13 and the hardships that followed and how he feels like he is resetting now with a range of opportunities thanks to the Building Futures program. Today the next phase in that journey begins for today’s graduates. photo by Jennifer Gajdosik