Stepping Stones with Juan Peña

Published on February 17, 2023

Meet Juan Peña. These days you might run into him as your local investor relations coordinator with Team NEO. Juan supports his team by fundraising, networking, and supporting the relationships the organization has with its investors. Team NEO serves as a convener between businesses and higher education through initiatives devoted to the talent pipeline. Y.O.U. is proud to partner with Team NEO through our shared goal of supporting local students in entering in-demand career pathways.

We know Juan from 10 years before, as a summer jobs teen in 2013. Juan moved from Puerto Rico in 2009. When he signed up for his summer job, he was still settling in to life in Cleveland. For his first job he cleaned McKinley Elementary School.

Juan remembered, “I really liked it because my coworkers and the work was fun. Because I'm not originally from the area, my job helped me understand the American culture. Prior to that, I still didn't understand a lot of things like hip-hop or some of the slang that people use in Cleveland. I needed these experiences because they were different than what I got in school. My Y.O.U. job gave me the opportunity to understand the culture. Whatever barriers existed, whether it was social, racial, it absolutely gave me the ability to collaborate with people outside of my community. I think it also helped me become even more open minded as I moved through life.”

His second year he was working in another school. “My supervisors would always say good things about me, and that gave me the confidence to keep doing more and keep improving. It also really helped me to begin to develop a relationship with money.”

He learned how to operate the machines to clean and polish wood floors. Though Juan was learning important skills, he knew he wanted to do something completely different in his next job. He was willing to do whatever it took to transition to something new.

Juan as a Summer Jobs teen in 2013.

Juan says, “For me, my summer job gave the experience to get another entry level job working in fast food. I worked at Five Guys. After Y.O.U., I had good referrals and the experience that helped me get my foot in the door and move further into the food industry. It served as a stepping stone to continue growing.”

Juan was struck by how a lot of people can’t get jobs because they don’t have the job experiences necessary to start the process. He shared about an experience he had at an alumni event at Cleveland State University. Juan was looking over a young girl's resume. She didn't have any other experience except for summer jobs from high school. She was really trying, but she had this gap in her resume since 2016, which was making it hard for her to find something new. Juan sees the importance in programs like Youth Opportunities Unlimited.

“It truly does have an effect on how people move forward in their lives. Hopefully it makes the case for more access for kids to go to Y.O.U. They do whatever it takes to get to know the youth and help them keep going on the right track.”