Get a Job!

Teen job fair provides opportunities for Santa Fe youths

What do you get when you have a passionate high school student who wants to give back to their community? They create new opportunities for youths to strengthen their abilities, network and find jobs.

Augustine Martinez is just such a person. A recent graduate of Santa Fe Prep, Martinez, 18, is one of the young people behind a proposed job center slated to open on the Southside sometime this year, and currently hosts recurring job fair events around town. Martinez was previously a part of the Mayor's Youth Advisory Board, a group of nine teenagers who work to uplift the local youth voice and provide access to resources and opportunities.

"They hosted two youth summits, and one of the biggest issues that were identified was the lack of jobs for youth in the community," Chris Sanchez, division director of the Children and Youth Commission, tells SFR. "The board created a strategic action plan to try to help [with] these concerns." Martinez expands, saying he wants to "help reach a broader audience within the community to make sure everyone feels like they have the same access to the same resources."

The inaugural fair kicks off today at the Santa Fe Public Library's Southside branch (6599 Jaguar Drive, 955-2820) and is expected to host potential employers like the Santa Fe Police Department, the Santa Fe Fire Department and Santa Fe's Park and Recreation Department, looking to fill summer and long-term positions. Teens can talk to potential employers while picking up skills and knowledge through hands-on help with social skills, interviewing practice, resume-building and networking.

The Youth Advisory Board urges youths from all walks within the community to attend, even "the kids that are in youth shelters, probation, detention, youth works, and every socioeconomic class," Sanchez says. "We want to make sure [all people] are integrated in this process—we want to bring it to the community because it's saying, 'we care about you enough to bring it to your neighborhood.'"

As for Martinez, he is now attending Texas Tech University and has passed the torch to his younger sister, Teya Martinez, 15, who now helps oversee the development of the job center and future job fairs. When asked why youth, both in and out of school, should consider this opportunity, Martinez says, "I feel like they should consider it just to see that whatever they can dream up can actually come to reality; with the right people, the right resources, like the Mayor's Youth Advisory Board, you can honestly help benefit your entire community."

The fair runs from 3-5:30 pm today and has snacks onhand, which is hard to turn down. "If this job fair proves to be very effective," Sanchez says, "we want to look at having it annually or bi-annually … so that it keeps kids engaged and understanding what jobs are available."

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