She was essentially told she wouldn’t amount to much. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a Benton Harbor High School Senior who has become the Michigan Engineering Student of the Year. Her name is Tamia Clay and she appeared before a Michigan State Senate Committee this week to advocate for the program that literally changed her life — the Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates program — or simply JMG.
Clay joined a team of others testifying before the Senate Appropriations Sub-Committee on Talent & Economic Development about the life-changing impact that JMG has on Michigan communities like her own hometown of Benton Harbor.
Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates continues to have a substantive impact on students, post-secondary education, and employers alike. With a graduation rate of 97-percent in 2018, and more than 85-percent of students going on to college, the military, or work, the group wanted to make sure that officials in Lansing know the critical work being accomplished across the state of Michigan.
In partnership with Michigan Works!, JMG serves nearly 3,000 at-risk students in Michigan and partners with employers, post-secondary institutions and community groups across the state. A total of 1,260 employers hired JMG students last year. Some of those partners include tuition assistance for advanced education or assistance to earn credentials necessary for their long-term careers. Unfortunately, After five years of support by the State of Michigan, JMG was eliminated in the Governor’s executive budget recommendation released last month. That’s why they made their sojourn to Lansing this week.
The JMG team included:
- Benton Harbor High School senior Tamia Clay
- DTE Energy Manager of Workforce Planning and Development, Tracy DiSanto
- Starkweather Academy Principal, Kevin Lane of Plymouth-Canton Community Schools
- Youth Solutions’ Executive Director, Kristin Harrington.
Clay told the appropriators, “JMG has changed my life. Like a lot of kids, I was told I would not amount to much, but Coach Sterling and JMG showed me a different path. JMG showed me how employability skills mattered – things like communication, teamwork, showing up on time, critical thinking.”
Clay was recently named “Michigan Engineering Student of the Year,” led the high school robotics team, and has been accepted at Stanford University and Central Michigan University (CMU). She plans to attend CMU next year to be closer to her family, which includes 11 siblings. She told the sub-committee in Lansing on Tuesday, “Many students at my school have barriers to overcome, like poverty, growing up in foster care, crime, drug abuse – and our JMG team is there to help us not only overcome barriers, but succeed in school, employment, and in life.”
Responding to the testimony of Clay, Subcommittee Chair Ken Horn from Frankenmuth said, “I am so proud of what you have accomplished. These are stories that must be told across the State.”
In her testimony, Tracy DiSanto praised Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates as a highly effective partner in addressing future workforce shortages, saying, “DTE projects that about 50-percent of our workforce is eligible for retirement over the next five years. We are focused on addressing this challenge and supporting Michigan’s economic vitality.” DiSanto went on to testify, “The story though is in the partnership and support we receive in the pipeline process. JMG prepares these students and they don’t just hand them off to us. They are with us through the entire journey. JMG acts as an employer relationship coordinator with the students and parents. They are with the students at key events, activities and are available through the students’ successes and challenges.”
Kevin Lane has been an educator for nearly thirty years and has experienced first-hand the impact JMG has had on the culture of his entire school, noting, “In our building, we have seen many students engage in leadership, and school in general, for the first time. It is an amazing program that I believe every student in Michigan should experience. In many ways, JMG is becoming the centerpiece of our school. This is truly a partnership that works.”
Kristin Harrington is Executive Director of Youth Solutions, the parent organization of Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates. She testified before the committee, “Each year 11,000 Michigan youth drop out, ranking Michigan in the bottom 10 states nationally, and statistics around youth employment are equally dire. JMG is the network that addresses this economic crisis head-on. We have delivered – a graduation rate of better than 90-percent for six straight years and 85-percent or more graduates going onto college or employment – all with a cost to the state of only one-thousand dollars per student.”
The State of Michigan appropriation currently stands at $3.1 million in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget. JMG is requesting $3.75 million in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget to support a growing wait list of students and schools.
Youth Solutions, Inc. is a premier youth opportunity organization. The leading program, Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates, delivers education and employability services to nearly 3,000 young people across 40+ cities. For more information about Youth Solutions, Inc. or to become a partner, you can visit online at www.ouryouthsolutions.org, follow along on Twitter at JobsforMIGrads, or “like” them on Facebook at JobsforMichigansGraduates.
In the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market are (Left to right) Youth Solutions’ Executive Director, Kristin Harrington, DTE Energy Manager of Workforce Planning and Development, Tracy DiSanto, Starkweather Academy Principal, and Kevin Lane of Plymouth-Canton Community Schools as they listen to Benton Harbor High School senior, Tamia Clay share the impact that JMG has had on her life.
Photo courtesy of Kinexus Group.
