Three Project Restore: Bedstuy (PRB) participants attended the Columbia Dining Job Fair at the Lee C. Bollinger Forum at Columbia University.
This week, three Project Restore: Bedstuy (PRB) participants—Michael Williams, Antoine Parker, and Rashawn Hurdle—attended the Columbia Dining Job Fair at the Lee C. Bollinger Forum at Columbia University. All three were able to complete on-the-spot interviews and are optimistic about their potential employment at Columbia.
Michael, Antoine, and Rashawn have been meaningful contributors to the participatory research and development process of Project Restore, directly helping to identify and shape the research methodology as well as the design of the programming itself.
Michael and Antoine were already familiar with The Forum, having presented their policy proposals there as members of the most recent 7th cohort of Justice Ambassadors, where they each spoke to a packed auditorium. Antoine also has further experience working on the Morningside campus through his participation in the Career Catalyst Internship Program (CCIP), a Columbia University initiative providing internships and professional development to young adults impacted by the justice system.
In addition to attending the job fair, Antoine and Rashawn further pushed their career paths by signing up for GED classes at Columbia's Community Impact on the same day, making it an especially productive day for all.
Throughout their involvement in Project Restore (which CfJ has sustained along with Inside Circle and KCDA), all three were supported with professional attire, resume-building, and interview preparation. Several other PRB participants expressed interest in attending but ultimately were unable to join for this particular event.
Jason Bostic, lead facilitator for Justice Ambassadors and current Columbia School of General Studies student, attended the fair to support them throughout the day and took them to a celebratory lunch afterwards along with PRB Assistant Program Manager Gabriel Feldman.
