Resumé Writing Workshop

Photograpghed (Left to Right): Dulce, Chris, Amie, and Adlemy

We invited Kameka, CEO of The Full Story Resume Writing Services, back to lead another virtual workshop to our new group of mentees. We had the honor of her presenting to our Spring mentees back in April. Our mentees had the opportunity to learn how to write a resumé, and learned tips and tricks on what recruiters look for in a resumé.

Our mentees played an ice breaker, took notes, asked questions, and now have some knowledge on how to write a resumé! Follow along @thefirehousedream to see their progress, and live in action workshop behind the scenes.

Welcoming Our Fall 2021 Mentees

Photographed (Left to Right): Chris, Ian, Julianna, Sarai, Dulce, Tyler, Amie, Jennifer, Adlemy, and Tyler.

We are so excited to welcome our Fall 2021 Mentees! This is our 3rd mentorship of the year and we cannot wait to see all the amazing things these mentees create! Follow along on Instagram @thefirehousedream to see Behind the Scenes and live IG stories.

Four Projects

We’re so excited to share the four projects that our Summer Mentees were able to accomplish during our 6 week mentorship program.

1. The Quinn Center

Our Summer Mentees were able to photograph children at The Quinn Centers annual summer camp this year, they put to use all of the skills they learned throughout the 6 week Mentorship.

2. Maywoodian Families

A group of five mentees photographed families who live in Maywood, as well as made a blog post about each individual family and their story of how they came to Maywood.

3. Video | Food Desert Conversation

Another group of five mentees created, shot, planned, and edited a podcast video talking about the challenges our community faces.

4. Individual Headshots

Our Summer Mentees teamed up to photograph headshots of each other. They utilized their skills that they learned throughout the 6 week mentorship cohort.

Part 1 | Part 2

Group Project | Food Desert Conversation

A team of five mentees from our summer Mentorship Cohort did a group project on some of the challenges our community faces. In this video/podcast episode, they talked about Maywood being a food desert, as well as what environmental racism is. This podcast was shot, edited, and planned out completely by this group of mentees, with the guidance of Jeremy, a co-founder of The Firehouse Dream who volunteered his time to support this amazing group of young adults. Additionally, Karina, who is the owner of Elevating La Cultura podcast, shared all her tips on how to create, plan, and launch a podcast.

Maywoodian Families | Bustamante Family

Photo Credit: Cristal Andrade

How long have you lived in Maywood?:

9 years

What are you loving about Maywood?:

The community atmosphere is really nice on our block. All of the neighbors look out for each other and each other's kids. I love the history that some of our neighbors carry about Maywood, and their excitement towards seeing Maywood grow and thrive once more.

Favorite memory in Maywood?:

When I was 9 months pregnant with my 4th child, me and my family would walk up and down the neighborhood at night. All of the neighbors would wave, cheer me on, and encourage us as the due date came closer and closer. It was one of the things that helped me get through that last month!

What opportunities has Maywood brought to your family?:

When we were looking for a home, we didn't qualify for very much. We looked all through Chicago and suburbs but everything in our price range was complete junk. When we found our home in Maywood we were so skeptical. We wondered what's the issue? Why is this house so inexpensive? This house has only gained equity over the years and has allowed us to expand, dream bigger, and get ahead. We've also been able to house roommates who have gone on to change careers, get debt free, prepare for marriage, and buy their own homes. It has blessed us and our growing family, as well as many around us.

What hopes do you have for your Maywood community?:

I hope for Maywood to thrive. To see the beautiful people of the community get ahead, not just one family here or there, but unified together. We have all the potential, we have an amazing location close to everything, we have incredible neighbors, teachers, and professionals in all fields, but we need our leadership to see the potential and walk Maywood towards that. Cause it's here, it just needs to be uncovered.

What is something that your family enjoys doing together?:

We love taking "adventure" walks. We go all around the neighborhood imagining fun crazy scenarios all year long and make up all kinds of silly things that could be happening.

Photo Credits: Cristal Andrade, Suha Kassar, Mya Frank, Jasmyn Scavella, Houmam Kassar