So, the other week I told you of a program tied to the JCC called PAVE. During that time, I interviewed my colleagues here to talk about their experience with PAVE so far. However, I may not have included everyone. Yes, I did get everyone who joins me at the JCC, there are also people who’ve worked with PAVE in the past who now have gone onto claim paying jobs, such as the person I recently interviewed, Debbie who works in the membership department at the front desk. Her job comes with a twist though, being that she only works on Fridays and has the rest of the week off.

 When asked why she wanted to work at the JCC, Debbie said her reasonings were because “I come from a Jewish background and being here makes me feel closer to my heritage plus it’s nice seeing people from my temple here.” In many ways Debbie is more seasoned than us PAVE interns as she’s done the time and gained skills she took with her to this job. Now what might they be? Well let’s hear from Debbie.

“While I was an intern I spent my time learning how to make professional phone calls, and ever since gaining a job here I feel I’ve only gotten better at making phone calls. TBH, I couldn’t have done it without the support of my coworkers, who’ve been very open and welcoming since my PAVE days. The main reason I chose to get a job here after completing PAVE was that I wanted to continue working with great people who taught me so much.”

 While Debbie faces similar experiences we do, she also gains more benefits. That being, Debbie’s actually getting paid for her job. Plus, she’s getting in more than three hours of work. Debbie is also using what she gained from PAVE and applying them in a way that allows her to keeps moving forward. She has definitely had her struggles but I think her perseverance shows me what we can be capable of if we follow Debbie’s example.