Week Without Walls with Alaska Airlines
“When we think about high school students, they can’t find their place to Belong in unless they’re self-sustaining. The Being part is how they’re thinking of who they are right now and to Become means more opportunities to be forward-thinking such as a Week Without Walls.” –Sarah Kong, Pathways & Partnerships Director via Bayview YMCA, Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School
Sky’s the Limit
During the last week of March, our Burton High School juniors gathered inside Bayview’s Southeast Community Center (SECC), a local community hub and event space, for the Week Without Walls program which is an annual educational initiative in partnership with the high school that provides our youth with experiential learning opportunities outside the traditional classroom setting.
Through the high school’s specialized academies and with the support of the Pathways & Partnerships program via our Bayview YMCA, our students participated in and experienced different activities and workshops (resume building, public speaking, interviews 101, and emotional intelligence) that would help them develop and prepare for different workforce industries such as Alaska Airlines.
“It’s kind of hard for juniors to get job experience, especially when you need previous job experience and nobody really gets that, so I think a Week Without Walls gives you a sense of preparedness. I also think it gives you exposure to things you want to do or opens your mindset to the possibilities of what to do after graduating high school.” –Eddy & Justice, Junior, Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School
See It, Own It, Change It
On the second day of a Week Without Walls, students who signed up for the Alaska Airlines workshop met at Google’s Community Space in Embarcadero. Here, students were split into two groups and alternated sitting in two sessions that consisted of learning about Alaska Airlines’ overall career pathways and hearing from the facilitators as they shared their different roles within the company, and how they got their careers started. From pilots to engineers to customer service, this was an opportunity for students to ask questions and interview Alaska Airlines employees to learn more about what it takes to pursue their dreams and what they’re most passionate about.
“Find your community partners. Find those agents that could introduce you to their community – in this case, to students who are hungry to learn, and just grow that partnership. This is a 3-year partnership that we’re embarking on with the YMCA of Greater San Francisco, and the purpose is to work with young people to get them ready for the workforce.” –David Tucker, Managing Director for California Public Affairs, Alaska Airlines
What’s to Come!
As part of our partnership with Alaska Airlines, we’re excited to be joining the upcoming Aviation Day community event happening at the San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, June 14. Open to youth ages 11-18 which is designed to give attendees fun and informative activities, and to interact with aviation workers, devices, and machinery. To learn more about the event, please visit alaskaair.com/aviationday or contact Manuel Rodriguez at [email protected]
