Local Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates Students Attend National Leadership Event

Students in the Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates (JMG) program coordinated by Northwest Michigan Works! attended the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) National Leadership Conference November 15 –18 in Washington D.C. The event attracted over 600 students from around the country. While they were in Washington, the students were able to network and engage with JAG students from other states, attend leadership development sessions, and tour national landmarks.

The northern Michigan students attending the National Conference were Dylan Bertram, a senior from Traverse City West High School in the Automotive Technology Program at the TBAISD Career-Tech Center; Haley Gilland  from Traverse City who is in the Out of School program in Kalkaska; Justina Russell, a senior from Lake City in the Hospitality, Retail and Entrepreneurship Program at the Wexford-Missaukee Career Tech Center; James Schoeldel from the Out of School program in Manistee; and Paul Tiejan, a senior from Petoskey in the Char-Em ISD CTE Welding Program at Pellston.

“It was the best trip I’d ever been on,” said Bertram. “I learned so much and saw things I would have never seen without JMG.”  

JMG helps Michigan's young adults graduate and make successful transitions to postsecondary education or meaningful employment. Northwest Michigan Works! coordinates JMG programs at the Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District, the Traverse Bay Area ISD Career-Tech Center, the Wexford-Missaukee Career Tech Center, and Out of School programs in Kalkaska and Manistee.

Jobs for Michigan's Graduates is the leading program of Youth Solutions, Inc., a premiere youth opportunity organization on a mission to equip young people with the skills to overcome barriers and win in education, employment, and as citizens. Youth Solutions is the state-based affiliate of the national Jobs for America's Graduates organization (jag.org), one of the largest and most successful school-to-work systems in the United States. The JMG model consists of a comprehensive set of services designed to keep young people in school through graduation and improve the rate of success in achieving education and career goals. For more information on Youth Solutions and its Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates programming, visit ouryouthsolutions.org.​