Lourdes Negrón-McDaniel’s 14-year-old self could never imagine she would be headed to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus to be their new Director of Inclusion & Culture. “My life has come full circle!”

Lourdes and her sister Nancy were some of Y.O.U.’s first summer jobs teens. They found out about the program as students at Cleveland’s Lincoln-West Junior High School. “I wanted to work,” Lourdes says. “After my parents divorced, we had it very tough. We even experienced homelessness.”

Lourdes’s mother, who grew up in Puerto Rico, was pulled out of school in the 5th grade to take care of five siblings while her parents worked. “My mom supported our decision to work. She always encouraged us to do things to position us for the future.”

Lourdes and Nancy were placed at their neighborhood hospital, Lourdes in medical records and Nancy in housekeeping. The girls would walk to work together, but with Nancy beginning work an hour before her sister, Lourdes had time to sit in the main lobby and watch the people coming and going. She saw how professionals walked, talked, and dressed…just their general demeanor. “I had no role models. My dad was a blue-collar worker. I was fascinated by that ecosystem.”

Lourdes was able to buy school clothes and supplies with her earnings from two summers with the hospital. She began babysitting and then took a year-round job at a fast food restaurant.

“My Y.O.U. summer job opened up a world of possibilities for me,” says Lourdes. “I’m excited to embark on my next adventure doing meaningful health equities work.”

Y.O.U. would like to thank Lourdes for her service on the Board of Directors. We will miss her.

READ MORE about how the benefits of a Y.O.U. summer job extend well beyond the wages they earn.