A brief glimpse of spring

A very Irish weekend

I didn't realize St. Paddy's Day was a big deal in Portland until it was here. We met up with Lindsay's friends Saturday afternoon at Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub, which hosts an annual Irish Festival for four days around St. Paddy's. It was quite the festival. Hundreds of people decked out in green gathered to celebrate under massive tents behind and across the street from Kells. Irish dancers performed and bands rocked all day. We enjoyed creamy Black and Tans and the day's good cheer.

Sunday morning, I met up with some friends and braved the rain, sleet, wind, and chill to run Portland's annual Shamrock Run along with 33,000 people. It was a riot! It certainly wasn't my fastest 5K, but I had a blast. And the finish met us with hot clam chowder and a free beer (I drank a quarter of it--what we all wanted most was a nice hot cup of coffee!)

After the race, Lindsay and I made a delicious brunch at home--scrambled eggs, rosemary and thyme roasted potatoes, breakfast sausages and Stumptown coffee. Then, we parked on the couch for a few hours to watch the NCAA tournament and the U. Del. women--led by star forward and hometown girl Elena Delle Donne--pick up a historic win, with its first ever tournament victory.

Sunday evening, we walked across town to the Rose Quarter to our first major junior ice hockey game. The Winterhawks--comprised mainly of players age 16-21--crushed Seattle. I had trouble believing half the guys on the ice were still just teenagers!

Overall, we had a great weekend. Next year, I plan on running the Shamrock Run's 10 or 15K. Hopefully, though, the race won't be the day after St. Paddy's day again.

Marvelous mountain

On Sunday, we headed out to Mt. Hood for another snowshoeing outing. I was excited for a few reasons. First, the weather was just magnificent--45, calm, and sunny. And, we were using our new snow shoes and poles for the first time.

We hiked about 2 miles to Mirror Lake. For about 1.5 miles, we were just trudging up, up, and up on snowy switchbacks. (Are we there yet??) If we had packed a lunch, the lake would have been a perfect spot to indulge in some food and rest.

We continued onward and upward to Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain. At the top of the ridge--over 1,400 feet above our starting point, we could see for miles in any direction. The cars on the road below looked like matchbox cars. Most spectacular, however, was the view of the southwestern slopes of Mt. Hood.

Another magnificent day on the mountain.

J.O.B.

This blog has mainly been a space for me to write about non-job related activities. Until now. Since I moved to Portland, it's been a welcomed escape from job-searching, interviewing, networking, cover letter writing. It's been a place for me to share new experiences, reflections, photos.

In January, I applied to a job at a non-profit that works to empower homeless youth to leave street life and become self sufficient--New Avenues for Youth. A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a case management position in their job training program. Last week, they offered me a job.

I accepted!

My first day was Tuesday. Our office is about 1.5 miles from our apartment, so rather than paying $4.20 each day to take the bus, I figured it'd make most sense to just walk. Not since I worked at Joey's Italian Ice as a sophomore in high school have I been able to walk to work! (I'm not including my work study jobs in that calculation...)

This week, I tried to meet with as many staff and leadership as possible to learn about their roles and what their department does and how it connects to the greater mission of the organization. 

Our Drop In center is where we make initial contact with youth who come in off the street. Every morning, it's open for breakfast from 9-10 am. When I stopped by on Wednesday, about 30 youth were hanging out, eating, talking, playing guitars. At Drop In, youth have access to basic services--food, showers, clothing, washer/dryer. A number of social workers are on site to engage with new youth. The ultimate goal, aside from providing them a safe space with food and basic necessities, is to engage youth to continue coming and become invested in other programs we offer, like education or job training. 

At 10 am, the Drop In center closes until lunch at 1pm. Youth who want to go to Education classes on that day go there. Many, however, just go back outside onto the streets. At Education, youth can go on computers for 30 minutes to check Facebook, email, play games, or just browse. It's a little incentive to convince them to come! Then, they take classes to work towards achieving a GED or graduating from high school.

I am a workforce case manager in PAVE (Promoting Avenues to Employment), our job training program that provides at-risk and homeless youth with the knowledge and training necessary for them to obtain living-wage employment. They learn job readiness skills, have access to internships and a subsidized work experience. 

My specific program, RISE (Retail Industry and Sales Experience), is financed in part with funds provided through Worksystems, Inc. from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Portland Development Commission. Because our programs are funded through grants, my job security is currently iffy. I may not have a job after June because of significant cuts.

I'm excited about New Avenues and the amazing work it is doing for Portland's at-risk and homeless youth population. (Last fiscal year, they served over 30,000 meals to homeless youth.) I'm looking forward to constantly learning and working to help young people become self sufficient and achieve their goals. 

I know my job will be challenging, but I thrive off of challenges. Especially if I can help young people--many of whom society has let slip through the cracks--realize their true potential.