Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 2-26-19

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Student Shares His Experience At Super Bowl LIII
Free Job Readiness
Ms. Cherylene Levy surprised her grand- children by taking them to Super Bowl LIII.
Shalese and Marli posed with pirates at Super Bowl LIII.
Shalese, Marli, and Anthony are shown outside of the Mercedes Benz Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday.
Anthony is shown taking a selfie to pre- serve the memories.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Tuesday, March 5th is Election Day in the City of Tampa. It is also an opportu- nity for several to make a new start in their lives.
Tuesday, March 5th is the first day of the FREE, 8-week Job Readiness Program from Dress For Success Tampa Bay. The program is spon- sored by the Coca-Cola Foun- dation Going Places Network.
Camille Walton, the Program Lead, said the pro- gram meets every Tuesday, starting with March 5th, con- tinuing through Tuesday, April 23rd. The classes are held from 10 a. m. to 1 p. m., at CareerSource Tampa Bay, 9215 N. Florida Ave. Lunch is included.
“The program is not just for unemployed persons, but those who believe they are underemployed,” Walton said. “Some persons who work night shifts or evening shifts also attend the classes while keeping their full-time jobs,” she explained.
In the previous Job Readiness Program, there were 18 students. Nine of them graduated with a posi- tion. The remaining 11 were employed within 30 days,
CAMILLE WALTON ...Program Lead, Dress For Success Job Readiness Program
Ms. Walton said.
Those who join the class
will get: resume writing help, participate in mock inter- views; learn to write cover letters, suiting, personal branding, and access to new opportunities.
Those who need suits for interviews, will also be equipped with the necessary items.
Those who have been in- vited as instructors during the program are: managers, human resource people, or recruitment managers. “We reach out to those who also have jobs to offer to our clients and can further train them,” she said.
There is still time to regis- ter. Call, (813) 259-1876, or email tampabaygpn@dress- forsuccess.org.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
One Tampa youth had the surprise of his life recently. He was able to attend Super Bowl LIII. The game was played in Atlanta, Georgia at the Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Anthony Johnson, a 6th grade student at Mount Cal- vary Seventh Day Adventist School, had the opportunity to attend the Super Bowl. He shared his experience in his own words.
“I still can’t believe that I was at Super Bowl LIII. I have always had this dream of me being at the Super Bowl, but I never imagined how beautiful it would be sitting in the stands.
“When my grandma, (Ms. Cherylene Levy), said that she had a ticket to the Super Bowl, I thought she was going to use the ticket for herself and leave us at our family’s house in Georgia.”
Anthony recalls that his grandmother sent them to bed at 8 p.m. that Saturday night. Before they went to
bed, she told them to each get one outfit. “At that moment, I knew it was time for another road trip. At 3 a.m., we were packing in the car with blan- kets and pillows.”
In addition to his grand- mother, he was accompanied by his sisters, Shalese and Marli.
The young man said after reaching Atlanta, they had breakfast and then his grand- mother began looking for some place to park. He com- mented on the parking slots costing anywhere from $70 to $200.
He also talked about them having to wait for nearly an hour for several buses es- corted by motorcycle police to pass. “My grandma’s patience was getting short and she stopped a cop and asked where we could park to go to the “will call” window.”
Anthony talked about the long wait at the window, only to be told that there weren’t any tickets waiting for them.
“My grandma asked if I would be disappointed if I couldn’t get into the game? In
my mind, I thought she must be crazy and I gave her an eye to eye contact and said, YES Ma’am! She asked who was in charge?”
Anthony said a man wearing a suit came out and left, a few minutes later, he came back with not one, but two tickets for his grand- mother.
However, she couldn’t go inside because his two younger sisters were with them. So she allowed him to go into the stadium and watch the game. They waited out- side for him.
“At the time, I hated leav- ing my grandma and two sis- ters outside. But, at that time, it was all about me! My grandma is mad because I didn’t thank her for the ticket, but I’m still happy.
“I didn’t want to leave the stadium after I saw the red, white, and blue confetti falling from the dome,” he said.
No matter how many trips Anthony may make to future Super Bowls, he will always remember this trip.
Program Set To
Begin March 5th
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9