6
e Career Opportunities Mentoring & Motivational Programs • Entrepreneurialism • Investing • Capital-Building 1 THE PATHFINDER — SPRING/SUMMER 2015 ISSUE 1. Make a tax-deductible donation to Pathways for Kids, a tax-exempt organization under Section 501 (C) (3) of the IRS Tax Code, Federal ID number 94-3313219. You can go to our website: http://www.pathwaysforkids.org just click on DONATE. 2. Contribute real estate, antiques or jewelry to Pathways and write the contribution off at the fair market value. 3. Donate an old car. Go to: http://www.pathwaysforkids. org - Click DONATE, then Click on DONATE AN OLD CAR. 4. Include a bequest in your Will or Trust to Pathways for Kids and reduce your Federal Estate Taxes. 5. Set up a Charitable Remainder Trust. 6. If you are an employee with the City and County of San Francisco you can donate to Pathways for Kids through your Local Independent Charities (LIC) payroll deduction program. 7. Help Pathways for Kids raise money by soliciting individuals, corporations and foundations. If you prefer to mail a check, please mail donations to: Pathways for Kids Donations 331 Filbert Street San Francisco, CA 94133 We need your assistance.Please call: Grace Long (415) 986-5885 to Contribute! Every donation of any size is greatly appreciated! 331 Filbert Street San Francisco, CA 94133 7 Ways to Support Pathways for Kids The PATHFINDER Staff Editing Grace Long, Ruth Taylor Layout & Design Ruth Taylor Writer Cassie Miller Photographer Patricia Winston (PAW) Pathways For Kids 331 Filbert Street San Francisco, California 94133 Phone: 415.986.5885/Fax: 415.986.5893 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pathwaysforkids.org Ana Blackwell, Public Relations YYL Public Relations Judge Gail Dekreon, Judge San Francisco Court of Justice Jon Feldhammer, Lawyer Feurzeig, Mark & Chavin, LLP Michael Fisher, Contractor Irwin Fisher Brian Goldberg, Software Engineer Apple John Glass, Real Estate Broker Marcus and Millichap Jeff Greenberg, Contractor Greenberg Investments Norman Krug, Hotel Owner Sonoma Valley Inn Jeffrey S. Leon, Principal HLA Ventures Tom McKnew, Financial Broker U. S. Realty Capital Dana Merker, Architect Patri-Merker Architects Michael Milstein, President Lewis and Taylor OFFICERS FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN Peter L. Dwares, Investor e Dwares Group PRESIDENT Bonita Jones Miller, Consultant Bonita Jones and Associates LLC VICE PRESIDENT Daniel Sharabi, Management Consultant & Partner at TAK Labs TREASURER Larry Smith, Accountant Smith and Company SECRETARY Sophie Sharabi, Founder Gentle Touch Fertility Services DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS Cassie Miller, Retired Administrator San Francisco Unified School District BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dick Berman, Marketing, e Berman Co. Guillaume Poncin, Engineer Google Andrew South, Real Estate Manager Southstar PM, Inc. Adam Suleman, Financial Analyst Labyrinth Capital Sherwin Turner, Team Leader Disaster Acquisitions Response Team - FEMA Pathways students, Darion Dawson, Tyrique Dugas and Jer- emiah Ray were invited to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Recep- tion as guests of Michael Walker. Michael is a long time Pathways supporter and Executive Vice President of City National Bank. Students pose with Pathways for Kids founder, Peter Dwares. Peter poses with Michael Walker; both leaders were thrilled that the students were excited about being able to attend this auspicious event — a new experi- ence in their lives! Pathways Students Invited to Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Reception

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Page 1: Download Spring/Summer 2015 Issue

The

Career Opportunities • Mentoring & Motivational Programs • Entrepreneurialism • Investing • Capital-Building

1THE PATHFINDER — SPRING/SUMMER 2015 ISSUE

1. Make a tax-deductible donation to Pathways for Kids, a tax-exempt organization under Section 501 (C) (3) of the IRS Tax Code,

Federal ID number 94-3313219. You can go to our website: http://www.pathwaysforkids.org just click on DONATE.

2. Contribute real estate, antiques or jewelry to Pathways and write the contribution off at the fair market value.

3. Donate an old car. Go to: http://www.pathwaysforkids.

org - Click DONATE, then Click on DONATE AN OLD CAR.

4. Include a bequest in your Will or Trust to Pathways for Kids and reduce your Federal Estate Taxes.

5. Set up a Charitable Remainder Trust.

6. If you are an employee with the City and County of San Francisco you can donate to Pathways for Kids through your Local Independent Charities (LIC) payroll deduction program.

7. Help Pathways for Kids raise money by soliciting individuals, corporations and foundations. If you prefer to mail a check, please mail donations to:

Pathways for Kids Donations 331 Filbert Street San Francisco, CA 94133

We need your assistance.Please call: Grace Long (415) 986-5885

to Contribute!

Every donation of any sizeis greatly appreciated!

331 Filbert StreetSan Francisco, CA 94133

7 Ways to SupportPathways for Kids

The PATHFINDER StaffEditing

Grace Long, Ruth Taylor

Layout & DesignRuth Taylor

WriterCassie Miller

PhotographerPatricia Winston (PAW)

Pathways For Kids331 Filbert Street

San Francisco, California 94133Phone: 415.986.5885/Fax: 415.986.5893

Email: [email protected]: www.pathwaysforkids.org

Ana Blackwell, Public RelationsYYL Public Relations

Judge Gail Dekreon, JudgeSan Francisco Court of Justice

Jon Feldhammer, LawyerFeurzeig, Mark & Chavin, LLP

Michael Fisher, Contractor Irwin Fisher

Brian Goldberg, Software EngineerApple

John Glass, Real Estate BrokerMarcus and Millichap

Jeff Greenberg, ContractorGreenberg Investments

Norman Krug, Hotel OwnerSonoma Valley Inn

Jeffrey S. Leon, PrincipalHLA Ventures

Tom McKnew, Financial BrokerU. S. Realty Capital

Dana Merker, ArchitectPatri-Merker Architects

Michael Milstein, PresidentLewis and Taylor

OFFICERSFounder and ChairmanPeter L. Dwares, Investor

The Dwares GroupPresident

Bonita Jones Miller, ConsultantBonita Jones and Associates LLC

ViCe PresidentDaniel Sharabi, Management Consultant

& Partner at TAK Labstreasurer

Larry Smith, AccountantSmith and Company

seCretarySophie Sharabi, Founder

Gentle Touch Fertility ServicesdireCtor oF Programs

Cassie Miller, Retired AdministratorSan Francisco Unified School District

BOARD OF DIRECTORSDick Berman, Marketing,

The Berman Co.

Guillaume Poncin, EngineerGoogle

Andrew South, Real Estate ManagerSouthstar PM, Inc.

Adam Suleman, Financial AnalystLabyrinth Capital

Sherwin Turner, Team LeaderDisaster Acquisitions Response Team - FEMA

Pathways students, Darion Dawson, Tyrique Dugas and Jer-emiah Ray were invited to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Recep-tion as guests of Michael Walker. Michael is a long time Pathways supporter and Executive Vice President of City National Bank. Students pose with Pathways for Kids founder, Peter Dwares.

Peter poses with Michael Walker; both leaders were thrilled that the students were excited about being able to attend this auspicious event — a new experi-ence in their lives!

Pathways Students Invitedto Bay Area Sports

Hall of Fame Reception

Page 2: Download Spring/Summer 2015 Issue

Pathways Corporate Partners Since Inception in 1998 - THANK YOU!

2 11

Richard Zawitz • Rob Charyn Ron Hirsch • Susan Crockett Ted Levenson • Vincent Barr

David & Karen DoodTed & Sarah Donovan • Kevin Dwares

Kimberly and Sean TiernanMary Clarke • Sherwin Turner

Arthur WeissJeff Adachi • I-Chien Wu-Magidi

Theodore MazzeneGuillaume and Pudji Poncin

Rabbi Yosef Langer • Cameron SouthSuzanne Faulkner • Eric and Geri Yee

David Lorie • Jason HiltonAndrea and Matthew Hawley

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Corbett • Gannon TidwellCharles Mayer • Renee Miguel

Carla Armstrong • Mathilda DockRosalind Solon • Flex Schools

Mayrann Maggiori • David LucasRoland & Caryl Petersen • Tim AufenthieLloyd & Sharyn Rich • Michael Mojabi

Tom Hovorka • John Glass • Meghan DouglasDaniel Cohen • Hitomi Ohsawa • Scott Forrest

Craig Robinson • William KenneyRob Kashian • Natasha Sadegill

Nicolas Sucur • Scott Gerber • Daniel O’Neill

A Very Special Thank You to Our Partners!Annette Hughes • Virginia Marshall

Kelly Yau • Eric Cuneo • Shabnaz YousefiaStephanie John • Jennifer Tang

Megan Miller • Lois Snell • Yuri Dew Mari Uchida • Dana Merker • Mary Bonifacio

Hillary Pearson • Christine LeeKaty Johnson • Cliff Bell • Lucia Macias

Mwanza Major • Michael SanchezLynette Sweet • Mike WilkinsBob Franklin • Joshua Quigly

John P. Beaven • Abusheri E. OhwofasaLauren Bruening • Milet Lukey

Domingo Jarquin • Eason RamsonAlegra Harrison • Tina Nguyen

In Memoriam

Ambassador Alfel W. (Ray) AthertonLoretta Basler • Minnie Berman

Cintra Ellis Carter • Ian Cary • Meriel ColeMarc Dwares • Nathan DwaresMichael Cefalu • Daniel Cerel

Dorothy Forman • Dave GordonJulie Gutterman • Sam & Shirley Kalman

Bill Kimpton • Justice Stanley MoskAl Pollack • Robert Ross • Shirley Ross

Mildred L. Tate • Norman WechslerKim Boucher • Tom Duffy • Ellen Grossman Eileen Barros • Jeanne Cohn • Meriel Cole

Frank Winston • Turley Mings • Elinor DwaresCharlotte Ott • Fred Freund • David Leach

Bella Farrow • Don Fisher • Dorothy DeBoltLawrence Weisman • Jeanne CohnDr. James Medoff • Joel Brinkley

Ronald Goldman

Touchdowns For KidsUS Bank • The GAP Foundation

Mayor Gavin Newsom • Mayor Frank Jordan Mayor Willie Brown • Supervisor Aaron Peskin

Ray & Rosa Meyers • Rebecca BeesonArthur & Charlotte Zitrin FoundationIrwin Fisher Inc. General Contractors

Robert Shapiro • Andrew SouthGeorge & Judy Marcus • Amy & John Palmer

Donate for Charity • Silicon Valley Bank Marv Ganz • John Chiatello

Mary Crocker Trust • Robert ShapiroMay & Stanley Smith Trust • Tom Frye

Richard & Victoria ZitrinNorman Krug • Craig Gordon

Donald & Bonnie DwaresJ. C. Kellogg Foundation

Diane Wilsey • Tom & Lisa McKnewRonald & Sydney Bushman

Kiwanis Club of San FranciscoRobert & Linda Imber • David Dwares49ers Foundation • Chuck & Carol Ott

Gloria Smith • John WrightRichard Berman • Mason & Anne Flemming

Stanley & Langendorf FoundationCharter Oak Foundation • Jennie Horn

Debbie Johnson • Gary SalomonJay Jeffers • Myron Zimmerman

T. C. McMechen • Bernie & Ina WassermanJohn Harrington • Marc Dana Merker

Mary Lou Castellanos • Michael MilsteinCheryl Orr • David & Deborah Ballati

Doug & Robin Ross • Eric NeplokhGary & Katia Gelman • Herb & Sue YagerKenneth & Sherilyn Fisher • Linda KendallLarry Smith • Marc Vogel • Jeffrey Sachs

Michael Franzia • Norman EcersleyRD & Mary Hume Endowment

Ron Vernali • Rob MacColl • John BergmanReginald Cook • Richard CrockerRobert Shapiro • Robert SilvermanRoger Passal • San Francisco Giants

Steven Goldberg • Mary DeBoltHeffernan Group Foundation • Bill Criss

Susie & Skippy Weingeroff • Thomas KleinKaiser Permanente • Marc & Dana MerkerSalesforce Foundation • Robert Friese, Esq.

The Upjohn Fund of San FranciscoThe Wells Fargo Bank • Didier PerezTom & Robin Duffy • Diane WilseyTaube Foundation • Tiffany Titolo

Tom Frye • Mark DziewulskiErnie McNabb • Derek Nazarbegin

Bonita Jones Miller • Jonathan AxelradJudy and Paul Kessler • David Lucas

George Elliott • Rosalind Solon • Nancy HarrisMichelle Bell • EO Hartzog • Tracy Ferron

Jennifer Messina • Beth McDougalJohn Glass • Gary Orenstein

Shareen Fanburg • Dianne & Alan Barkley2003 Maryann Fair Family Trust

Stephen Pardys, M.D. • Andrew MartinKyle Lawson • Michael Milstein

Christopher Lane • Gail Dekreon

Tony Orser • Turley MingsWai Lin Liao • Wells Fargo Foundation

Anne Lawrence • Barbara KaufmanBrenda Cruz-Keith, Esq. • Bryan Silverstein

Charles D. Farber Memorial FoundationGayle Farber & Jeff Siegel

Clay & Helen WiensCraig & Maja Ramsey • Craig LiptonDanielle Steele • David & Karen Dold

Doug Cain • Elliott GrimshawErnest Bates • First Republic Bank

Forrest and Heidi PendletonFredric Freund • Gary Shemano

Intuitive Partners • Jamie & Heidi HowellJewish Community Endowment Fund

John & Lisa Pritzker • John LiftinJohn Urben • Judy & Paul KesslerKent Clay • Kevin & Anja Castner

Larry Israel • Lee SankowichLeon & Linda Klapper • Marco Barrueto

Marily Franzia • Mark ConroeMary Souza • Matt Peek

Matthew Eng • Melinda ElledgeMelvin & Angela Dagovitz

Nancy Todes Taylor • Nathan DwirlPacific Union Community Fund

Paul & Gayle Switzer • Phil DuttR. N. & Marily Bowles

Ralph Higgs • Richard HyderRichard & Rhoda Goldman Fund

Richard Cohen • Robert & Kiki WellsRoger Gershman • SF Fire FightersSandy McGready • Sheldon Low

Sterling Meyer • Taube Family FoundationTed Ammiro • The Fred Gellert FoundationThe Kimball Foundation • Theodore Brown

Theta Delta XI Gamma ChapterTim Shetz • Aykut Events

Claudine Cheng • Rhonda BennonBarbara & Ron Kaufman • Lan Le

Alexsis De Raadt-St. James • Allan SaghiAmerican Shared Hospital Services

Annett Bonnet • Astrid & Terence KeeneBeth Ann O’Hara • Betty Atherton

Beverly Eden • Bonita JonesBrian Goldberg • Bruce MillerCharles Mayer • Chris Simao

Claude & Louise Rosenberg • Nancy HarrisCraig Solomon • David Akov

David Bloom • Douglas KennedyDyann Tresenfeld • Edith Yeung

Ellen & Rick Grossman • Esther LemerGreater Bay BanCorp • Hal Dryan

Han Phan • Harry Andrews Helen Ross • James Burkhouse

Jay Enright • Angela FaberJennifer Alexander • Jim CastellanosJoseph Ciatti • Kenneth Guernsey

Land America • Laura & Osborne HowesLon & Jennifer Sorensen • Louis SilcoxLucasfilm Foundation • Mask of Marin

Michael Acabado • Mitch ShostakPennisula Bank of Commerce

Peter Maier • Rebecca Castaneda

Our Field Trip Sponsors/Partners

Accu-logisticsAmerican President LinesBABA Educational Services “College & Career Tech Fair”Charles Henry CompanyCharles SchwabCommission Oceanside CUESA - Center for Urban Educa- tion about Sustainable AgricultureCity College of San FranciscoDeloitte & ToucheDr. Andrew RosenblattFacebook Fairmont HotelFirst Republic BankForell/Elsesser, Inc.GAP Clothing StoreGarden For The EnvironmentGiants Baseball Park - SBCGoogleHCA & Co.HSBC BAnkIllumina BiotechIsraeli ConsulateJuma Ventures - Main OfficeJudge G. Dekreon Superior Court & City HallKaiser Permanente Medical CenterKGO, Channel 7 NewsKPIX – Channel 5KMEL - The Clear ChannelMacy’sNoe’s NestPricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Ritz Carlton HotelSF Culinary AcademySF Film SocietySan Francisco Fire DepartmentSan Francisco 49ers OrganizationSan Francisco Public UtilitiesSan Jose State UniversitySerena Software Co.Students In BankingTech MuseumThe CrucibleThe San Francisco Airport MarriottThe W HotelTwitterUPS - United Parcel ServiceUS BankUS Bankruptcy CourtWaterbar RestaurantWater Pollution Control PlantWells Fargo BankWells Fargo MuseumWilson Sonsini Goodrich & RosatiZendesk, Inc.

Cars! Cars! Cars! A Visit to theCharles Henry Company

On Thursday, March 26, 2015, Education Specialist, Rob Marti-nez escorted 10 students from Flex Academy to the Charles Henry Company. This visit was organized by Jeffrey Leon and Walter Dawyd-iac.

The students engaged in conver-sation with the sales representatives and surveyed the luxury display cars while they waited for other students to arrive and the owner, Walter Dawydiac to greet them.

Walter joined them in the front area of the dealership and introduc-tions were exchanged. Walter gave them a brief history of the Charles Henry Company. He discussed his experiences, plans and dreams lead-ing to his ownership of the Charles Henry Company Dealership.

He began his presentation by announcing to the students “There is nothing that a man or woman can’t do if they persevere.” He also stated “This is a good time for females in industry; if you wanted to be treated equal, you must stand up for yourself; no one person has the same technique of learning; it is your responsibility to discover your learning potential;

people learn differently and have unique skills; your job is to figure out how you need to learn; teachers give directions.”

Charles never finished grammar school, secondary school or college. He only received social promotions in school. He advised the students to use a bad thing that happened to them, turn it around and rise above their problems. Charles told the group that he spent a year in jail when he was 18 years old for steal-ing cars. He asked himself, “How do I turn my life around and honestly own cars?” There is nothing you can’t learn when you are determined.

One of the students asked,“How did you go from stealing cars to be-coming a car dealer?” His response was, “One technique to learn is not to always trust what you hear, also re-search and substantiate.” He realized he had a lot of energy, therefore he kept multiple jobs. He started in a detail shop then moved to body work in small shop and later moved to larger shops.

(continued on page 3)

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310

Founder’s Corner Cars! Cars! Cars! (continued from page 2)

Peter DwaresFounder & Chairman

PATHWAYS FOR KIDS

SAVE THE DATE!Friday, November 6, 2015

5:30 PM

17th Annual Auction Gala“ My Favorite Movie Star”

The InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel1 Nob Hill

San Francisco, California 94108

Dress Up As Your Favorite Movie Star!Fabulous Auction Items • Entertainment

Pathways For Kids331 Filbert StreetSan Francisco, California 94133Phone: 415.986.5885Email: [email protected] Dwares, Founder

His parents taught him to start taking feedback from the world, and he took advantage of their suggestion. He realized that he needed to change his approach. He had a big mouth, and he needed to learn how to read and to do math; he began to teach himself. He needed to take time to compose what he was going to say and think about what he planned to say. He spoke to the students about the importance of establishing a good reputation. He asked them to remember that the internet is final. You can’t change or take back what you say. Always think about what you say to assure a successful career.

This field trip was truly appreciated by everyone. Thank you Jeffrey and Walter.

For our Spring Newsletter (our 34th), I want to thank our Board of Directos and Advisors (young vig-orous and enterprising) and Spon-sors for what each has contributed this year. I am proud of our Busi-ness Programs and what our kids say they get out of them. We have now done this since 1998. We get better each year. This is “motivation by inspiring.”

As for our programs, I espe-cially liked going to Cars Dawydiak. It’s in a building owned by Walter Dawydiak, a friend of our Board Member Jeff Leon. Walter told the kids early on he stole a car and went to jail. He came out, learned to work on cars, got into exotic cars, went from fix ups to sales and now owns a multimillion dollar building in San Francisco filled with Jaguars, Porches and Aston Martins. The kids got it.

Inner City poverty is a blight. The model I look to are immigrants who come here with nothing, save working jobs others don’t take, and their kids become doctors. They de-fer pleasure for their kids’ advance-ment. They stay in families. Many of our American youth do not exhibit this same sense of responsibility.

Cultures must keep their great aspects, but jettison negative aspects if they want their kids to have a slice of the pie; it’s there with work and education. It can’t come from with-out; it must be within.

Page 4: Download Spring/Summer 2015 Issue

4 9

San Francisco High School StudentVisit Sacramento State & UC Davis

Impressive Hotel Operations at the W

What an experience it is for high school students to have an opportunity to visit college and university campuses before they graduate from high school. Such an opportunity gives students a chance to see and feel what it might be like to walk on college grounds, to view college students independently at-tending class, and to experience the ambiance of the college educational system.

Students from Independence High School and UCSF’s Early Academic Outreach Program were fortunate to experience the college/university scene in late January of this year. Students along with their supervisiors were met by Sacramen-to State college students in a desig-nated parking area.

The visiting students were es-corted on a wonderful campus tour and informed of the services pro-vided at Sacramento State Uni-versity. After the tour, the visiting students were taken by bus to the UC Davis Campus. The UC Davis campus hosts escorted students to the Commons (cafeteria) where they were offered an “all you can eat” food pass

After lunch, they were escorted

to the Welcome Center where they were greeted by tour guides. During the lecture presentation, the stu-dents were provided with the fol-lowing Information: • UCDavis is the #1 university

in the world in agriculture and forestry, according to the “World University Ranking.”

• It is one of the “Top Ten” in-stitutions granting degrees to students of color.

• It isoneof the “Top 20” most affordable colleges in America.

• UCDavishasfourundergrad-uate colleges: Agricultural/En-vironmental; Sciences/Biologi-cal Sciences; Engineering; and Science.

• They offer six ProfessionalSchools: Education; Law; Management; Medicine; Nurs-ing; and Veterinary.

• Tour guides also discussed:More services to ensure student success; Admission Require-ments; Fees; and Financial Aid/Scholarships.At the conclusion of the visit,

the students returned to the Center where they engaged in a question and answer session.

The students enjoyed the tours

and appreciated the charter bus transportation and lunch provided by Pathways for Kids. This was a wonderfully well planned and orga-nized field trip. We thank the spon-sors for a superb field trip!

were able to experience sitting in the fire truck, watching demonstra-tions of the various equipment used in fighting fires, learning how the fire station is organized and func-tions, and speaking extensively with the fire fighting staff about their jobs and how they became firefight-ers.

Pathways staff and students thank the San Francisco Fire De-partment for a wonderfully well planned and organized field trip.

What’s more exciting than get-ting an opportunity to visit a five star luxury hotel in the eclectic, fascinating ultra urban city of San Francisco? Well, some lucky stu-dents from the San Francisco Uni-fied School District participating in the Pathways for Kids Program were afforded such an opportunity.

These fortunate students were given an opportunity to leave their every day environment and travel into the world of the Hotel Indus-try when they visited the W Hotel.

Students met the hotel’s Ex-ecutive Committee and spoke with them about career journeys in the hotelindustry.Toursponsor,Trisha Hildreth, introduced the students and their supervisors to staff pre-senters. Students were then given an overview of a variety of hotel areas.

Information was given to stu-dents about the hotel’s Front Office, Human Relations, Finance and Sales, Banquet Preparations Housekeeping, Culinary Services and Security.

Many of the students attending have never left their environment, and of course, have never stayed in a hotel of any sort. Needless to say, students found the hotel atmo-sphere exciting and their surround-ings luxuriously comforting. They saw first hand the variety of activi-

ties and responsibilities required when working in the hotel industry. This was a wonderful field trip, a beautiful hotel, and a most gracious hostess, Trisha. We, at Pathways,thank the W for extending an invi-tation to benefit the students in our program.

Page 5: Download Spring/Summer 2015 Issue

8 5

Making Bridges & Buildings Stand — An Exciting Visit by Students to Forell/Elsesser, Inc.

Where’s The Fire?

Most often high school students are not aware of exactly what might be involved in pursuing a career in engineering. Pathways For Kids wanted to expose students to the wonderful possibilities in the area of engineering, and we arranged a visit to Forell/Elsesser, Inc. — a structural engineering com-pany — on Thursday, April 30, 2015. Students from Flex Academy and the

CARE program attended this field trip. Ms. Carolynn Smith, an Associ-ate of Forell/Elsesser, Inc., was our sponsor for the visit. She made sure that our students had a rewarding learning experience. When we all arrived in the lobby, we received a very warm welcome by Ms. Smith and her staff. The presenters shared many of their educational training and personal experiences.

Ms. Simin Naaseh, President and CEO helped to make our field trip possible. We also want to thank the staff members for their par-ticipation during our visit. The pre-senters: Christopher Tung, Dwight Evans, Yousif, Mei Kuen Liu and Keith Chung were informative and dedicated to serving the needs of

(continued on page 6, column 1)

(continued on page 9)

Pathways staff has discovered that students love to visit the local Fire Station. Their experiences seem to be more real and tangible as they interact with the uniformed firemen and view the large, impressive look-ing fire trucks — some students, perhaps, seeing themselves as one day serving as a fireman/fire wom-an, riding on the big red truck, put-ting out fires and most importantly, saving lives.

Undoubtedly several high school students were excited to at-tend a field trip to the San Francisco Fire Department. They were super-vised by their Education Special-ist, Rob Martinez. The group met in the lobby of the San Francisco Fire Department and were escorted to a lecture room where they were introduced the staff: sponsor, Pub-lic Information Officer Mindy Tal-madge; Rob Neuneker, Lieutenant; and Jennifer Balestrier, Firefighter and Paramedic. They were joined by Fire Chief, Joanne Hayes White. She is the first woman in her position in San Francisco, and she has served 25 years in the fire department. The Fire Chief is selected by the mayor

after successfully taking tests and exams.

Mindy Talmadge began the pro-gram with a “meet and greet” activ-ity. Following her introduction, she introduced her co-workers. The stu-dents and adults were asked to give a brief self-introduction.

The first presentation covered “Career Fire fighting and Possible Career Tracks in the San Francisco Fire Department.” They discussed information which an individual needs to know while preparing for

a Fire fighting Career. Applicants need to consider if a career as a Fire-fighter is really for them, and they must be diligent in their research.

Applicants must also think about the training involved in becoming a firefighter (Firefighter 1 Certificate; EMTandParamedicCertifications;CPAT-PhysicalandAbilityTest).Potential firefighter should consider volunteering their time while gain-ing experience as practice makes perfect! Becoming a firefighter of-fers a variety of career options: it is rewarding; it is a team sport; and it is an excellent way to become trained to help people. Firefighters also have an opportunity to become actively involved in our educational system by being invited to visit schools and educating students about what fire-fighters respective jobs entail.

Following a brief tour of the building, the students visited Fire Station 8 for an additional discus-sion about Fire fighting as a career and witness equipment demonstra-tion.

Pathways for Kids’ students en-joyed this visit and appreciated the brochures distributed to them. They

Page 6: Download Spring/Summer 2015 Issue

6 7

Talk The Talk to Walk The Walk!the students. The presentations, the personal one-on-one conversations and the questions/answers session captured the students’ attention and motivated them to actively partici-pate.

The presenters spoke at length about the importance of structural engineering in building bridges and buildings that are able to with-stand the erratic shaking of power-ful earthquakes. Such a discussion helped students to understand just what being a structural engineer en-tailed. Students were fascinated to hear about the equipment, materi-als and building techniques it takes to make buildings and bridges safe during devastating earthquakes and other natural disasters.

The presenters were most ac-commodating to our students and staff. Likely, the staff members were polite and received the students with warm greetings. All of these were greatly appreciated with the wonderful lunch that was served.

The staff was extremely support-ive in helping us expose the under-served students to various careers in engineering. This was indeed a great visit.

Engineering . . .

Presenter Christopher Tung

Students listen to information about retro-fitting buildings and bridges, how structural engi-neer problem solve; students learn just what type of work structural engineer do.

Presenter Dwight Evans

Benjamin Ng (student)Hello, my name is Benjamin Ng,

and I am a student attending San Francisco Flex Academy. We par-ticipate in field trips that are held by Pathway for Kids. I have attended two trips so far and both were or-ganized well. These field trips help students discover and experience job careers that may interest them. The most recent one I attended was to The W Hotel. I had a splendid time listening to the hosts who gave out plenty of delicious food and infor-mation about the hospitality indus-try. I was very interested, and now I am open to discovering a new major called Human Resources. The infor-mation given from the many won-derful hosts and hostesses gave me a well informed and enjoyable experi-ence to add to my list of interesting majors and careers. I would like to thank the W Hotel and Pathways for Kids for hosting and providing such wonderful opportunities to the community.Natalie Rauda (student)

A few months ago my school (San Francisco Flex Academy) took a group of students to a firehouse. Anyone who was interested was able to sign up. I was interested in the fast-paced style of firefighters. We were taken to the headquarters and introduced to several experi-enced firefighters/emergency work-ers. They gave use the opportunity to ask questions. After a few ques-tions and answers the interview-ers were given the chance to speak about their backgrounds. What I really remembered was the emer-gency worker. She had been dealt a difficult set of cards shortly after finishing high school. It was very inspiring to hear how she applied

herself so suddenly in order to get herself out of that tough situation. Along with this she expanded on her training (going through the pro-cess to become an EMT).

Later we went to the actual fire-house. The firefighters that greeted us were very kind. There was a large sense of community that I re-ally enjoyed seeing. They pulled out two trucks. One held water and the other held medical and other emer-gency equipment. I learned about the many different functions and what they were used for. By the end of the trip I felt much more aware of what firefighters did and that it all wasn’t just fast-paced. The EMT had me highly interested in emer-gency work and more recently has given me the drive to take courses over the summer. I’ll be taking anat-omy.

Steven Quincy O’lbel (student)Field trip: Price Waterhouse Coopers

I was able to learning the differ-ence between a Bachelors’ and Mas-ters’ degree. I was able to learn how I can set in motion the steps of what I want to be.

D’annii Williams (student)Field trip: Mass Mutual Financial

I learned that if you want to be successful, you have to plan it out day by day.

Sara Brooks (student)Field trip: Stacks Restaurant

I learned that you need to work your way up to a certain position, but it depends on how badly you want it.Bre’Jon Jackson (student)Field trip: Price Waterhouse Coopers

I liked everything about the field

trip. I learned that when I speak to someone, I should stand up when I address them.

Marsha Mills (student)Field trip: Price Waterhouse Coopers

I liked that the presenters in-formed us about how much other jobs pay. I learned that the longer I stay in school, the more degrees I earn, the more money I will make.

Chris Tung, Engineer — 4 months with Forell/Elsesser Company

I am a Structural Engineer. I design buildings and create from building skeletons; Beams, Columns & the Foundation to ensure safety. Graduate UCB Berkeley undergraduate and graduate. My first job was at a tea store; Drink Maker blending smoothies. Advise to students, talk to your resources, Counselor, Mentor, people you feel comfortable talking with. You may not know at the moment but it’s putting yourself out there over and over again.

Dwight Evans, Structural Engi-neer — 9 years with Forell/Elsesser Company

My inspiration was my father. He studied architecture and de-signed houses. When I was young, I played with his drafting tools as toys. I love to draw. I enjoyed math and was not intimidated by it. After high school, I was not sure I wanted to attend college, but I applied any-way.

My advice to students is that you can do anything you put your mind to when you apply the effort. You may be good at something, but you have to have a work ethic and it helps!