LA Fellows Graduation Speech: Cohort 7, March 22, 2013
By Janet Walters
How many of you have ever lost your job? It used to be a shameful topic, but being laid off, downsized, and terminated has become the norm in today’s working world. This morning, I’d like to talk about the LA Fellows experience and thank everyone who made LA Fellows Cohort 7 a reality.
Thanks to our trainers, we are leaders and team players who are bright, shiny pennies. We quit trying to be clever and became obvious. As a matter of fact, we boosted our emotional intelligence, learned how to write proposals and SOARS. That is S-O-A-R. Plus, we take our back packs overfilled with our skills, talents, and career tools wherever we go. Let me explain.
Our first trainer, Larry Braman taught us team building skills. On our very first day of class he sang us his rendition of “Baby, You’re a Fellow Now.” Cohort 7, let’s sing the bolded portion of Larry’s song:
Cuz baby you’re a Fellow now
These teachers gonna show you how
To get you where you want-to-go
And we’ll learn from you too-we-know
Cuz baby you’re a Fellow now
These teachers gonna show you how
To get you where you want-to-go
And we’ll learn from you too-we-know
Boom boom boom
Good things coming to you soon soon soon
You know it’s still inside of you you you
Now you’ve got some work to do
Cuz baby you’re a Fellow now
These teachers gonna show you how
To get you where you want-to-go
And we’ll learn from you too-we-know
Boom boom boom
Good things coming to you soon soon soon.
Then Larry had us team up with each other and made us sing in front of the class—this was our first day of class!
What is the purpose of singing in front of each other? It’s about taking risks, venturing into the unknown and working together as a team—with people you barely know. Operating with this mindset is crucial if you want to work and succeed in today’s job market.
Fast forward to our next trainer, Lynnette Ward. Lynnette, you reminded us that we all have a mental backpack that’s filled with our job experience, skills and talents. You also reminded us to be the bright shiny penny; which means to stand out. One more thing, you don’t mess with Lynnette. Thank you for your tough love and priceless career advice.
Then we met our EQ Creative Expert, Jim Marteney. He revealed that if you want to get work and keep your job, emotional intelligence, EQ is more important than IQ We also discovered our dominant personality traits which in turn made us owls, doves, road runners or eagles
The most energetic trainer award goes to Maxine Shapiro. Maxine, you uncovered two simple AND profound truths: You said, “Quit trying to be clever. And, be obvious.” Maxine taught us how to liberate ourselves and make others look good by using the simple phrase, “Yes AND.” Say “Yes AND,” and you will open the doors of opportunity.
Grant writing expert Andrea Mitchel, you gave us the nuts and bolts of grant, or better said, proposal writing. Andrea, you told us NOT freak out. You taught us that if we used our common sense, conducted thorough research, and set up the Logic Model, we can dive into the world of proposal writing—a useful skillset indeed. Thank you for sharing your expertise.
Roberto Gutierrez, You correlated the ancient are of drumming with the jungle life in the workplace. Through drumming, we learned how to listen, how to lead, how to be a team player, get out of a funk and into a groove. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to let go, explore and discover.
Speaking of drums, the next drum roll goes to Jobs Guru Tony Jaramillo. Tony, thank you for showing us how to make the Internet work for us. We no longer get lost in the virtual black hole. You also showed us how to use Twitter to get the job opportunities hot off the press; so we can be the first 100 to apply. We now know that recruiters don’t have the time to go through and read 500 plus resumes for each job posting.
Keri Luna, thank you for teaching us about Interviewing Techniques by examining the Ecosystem of the Workplace. You are a dynamic presenter. Thank you for always being there to answer our questions and concerns.
Camille Stewart from Cohort 5, thank you for your authenticity and encouragement to us to keep going and not give up. You made it easy for us to get to class early every day.
Allison Silver, you are our foundation. You’ve helped make our LA Fellows journey an enjoyable one. Thank you for guiding us in our job search and incorporating your stories into lessons that we can use in our career paths. You’re story on how you networked your way to becoming an Oscar Meyer Hot Dogger riveted all of us.
I also wanted to point out three outstanding LA Fellows who transformed right before our eyes. They’ve made a tremendous impact in our cohort:
Geni Cobb, Thank you for sharing your honesty, creativity and wholeness. I have no doubt that you will make a difference using your voice in the political realm. You have my vote.
Mary Turner, thank you for your calm intellect. You see things in ways others don’t even consider. We witnessed a quiet, talented person evolve into a confident, dynamic and articulate woman.
Matt Donato, you are a technical genius in the entertainment industry. What we didn’t know is that you have a humorous side. Thank you for sharing your wit and humor. You are a celebrity in your own right.
Cohort 7, thank you for making our LA Fellows experience a positive one. You are all shiny pennies. You freely shared your expertise, guidance and your experience. Because of your contributions, we are experiencing career success victories right now and many more are on the horizon.
We, LA Fellows, Cohort 7 would like to thank Worksource Center Representatives for believing in us and giving us the financial opportunity to receive specialized training in the LA Fellows Program.
We would also like to thank our Non-Profits for providing us hands-on training and work experience that is making us in demand the competitive job market.
Thank you everyone who is involved with LA Fellows. You took us under your wing. Because of you, we transformed from broken, frustrated, and hopeless job seekers to confident, articulate and intelligent professionals who are making a difference in our workplaces, communities, and economy.
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