When E.L. joined Future Pathways, he was motivated but stuck. He wanted to work, but his route from wanting a job to getting one was unclear. 

He wasn’t sure what type of role would suit him. Transportation was a barrier, as was navigating the unwritten rules of the workplace, such as water cooler talk.

Future Pathways gave E.L. something he hadn’t had before: a structured way to work through the barriers that stood between him and a fulfilling job. 

E.L. was drawn to Future Pathways because he wanted to learn. What he found was a curriculum that covered even more topics than he expected, from cybersecurity to soft skills to navigating the employment resources available to him in California.
 
​E.L. says that the knowledge-check quizzes were his favorite part of the program. The quizzes gave him a chance to test what he’d absorbed and see how far he’d come. He left with tools he could actually use.

At one point during the program, E.L. was hesitating, worried about getting an answer wrong. His fellow participants noticed. Their response was direct and generous: don’t worry about what anyone else is thinking. Just focus on your own experience.

Something happens in a room full of people navigating the same terrain. They don’t need to explain themselves to each other. They already know. For E.L., having peers who understood the pressure he was under — and who responded to his hesitation with patience instead of judgment — created the kind of safety that made it possible to keep going.

That kind of support is hard to build and harder to replicate. It is also, for many participants, the thing that makes everything else stick.

By the time the program ended, those participants had become something more than classmates. He was sad to say goodbye. E.L. exchanged phone numbers with some of them so they could stay in touch after graduation.

During Future Pathways, E.L. figured out what work environments would suit him. He particularly wanted to work in a school, and developed an interest in custodial or janitorial work. The structure, the routine, and the feeling of being part of something larger and helping others all appealed to him. 

​E.L. applied to work at a school district and was successfully placed as a campus monitor. Day to day, his role includes walking the campus, checking in on students, and making sure that everyone is safe and where they’re supposed to be.

He keeps an eye on the facilities, steps in when something needs attention, and keeps his colleagues in the loop with reports and updates.

When E.L. talks about his job, it is clear how much it means to him to show up for the people around him, from the students to his coworkers. The work is meaningful to him because 
it gives him a way to contribute to something bigger than himself.

​“I’m actually grateful,” he says, “to help them — help the school and help my other coworkers.”

Since finishing Future Pathways, E.L. is working toward his degree. He is also studying for his driver’s license exam, a practical step to open up more employment options down the road.

His 12-month career plan, which he built collaboratively with his coach, maps a path forward that includes continued self-improvement and the longer-term goal of completing his college degree.

When asked what he’d say to someone who was considering enrolling in Future Pathways, E.L. didn’t hesitate: “You really need it. You really need those skills, that knowledge, and what you need to experience your joyfulness.”