Frank X. Moraga
By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805
You just never know when that moment of inspiration arrives — when you are set on a career path that will guide the rest of your life.
My moment of inspiration came after I finished my four-year hitch with the U.S. Navy and started classes at Ventura College. It was while attending the college’s “Media in Minorities” conference that I became inspired to pursue a career in journalism. After listening to the late Frank del Olmo and the late George Ramos of the Los Angeles Times, and local Latino photojournalist Jess Gutierrez, I knew I wanted to get involved in this exciting field — photographing. writing stories and covering events such as a César Chávez march from Piru to Cabrillo Village in Saticoy, and later reporting such events as the massive Wheeler Fire in Ojai, environmental issues, political campaigns and traveling overseas to write about Ventura County companies doing business in Japan. And after all these years I continue to love this career path, helping to tell stories be it through photographs and articles, in print and online.
As part of the Tri-Counties Chapter of the California Chicano News Media Association, I also recall going with other media professionals to high school and colleges talking to young people about careers in journalism.
It’s amazing how you can inspire a student to succeed and choose a career path if the circumstances are just right.
One organization that has been heavily involved in creating more of those moments of inspiration is the Segue Career Path Mentors Program. Jerry Beckerman is the executive director of the Ventura-based organization.
Segue enables volunteers from the local workforce in all careers to speak in local students’ classrooms. Students learn key lessons from speakers about the road of life and find good cause for hope about their future, Beckerman said. For the college bound, Segue answers many questions and helps solve the mystery about career options with real world content from those that have been there.
Segue is now looking for volunteers to help mentor students.
“It is a small step to stand up for our students, just an hour-and-a-half on campus one time,” Beckerman said. “You can make a real difference for three classes and reach about 100 students. A brief Speaker’s Guide is emailed to you with topics to cover and to spark memories from your own career path. The last semester of the school year is here.”
You can pick any date through May that works for your calendar by going to http://www.segueprogram.org/speakers_new.html.
“Ever think ‘if only I knew then what I know now,’ ” Beckerman said. “You can give local students ‘what you know now’ for a head start in their career life and the motivation to do their best in school now. With a small amount of your time on a date you choose, you can give them hope and confidence that they too can create a successful future for themselves.”
The program has received positive praise and has been a past recipient of a Destino Grant Award.
“The career path presentations, which are the core of the program, are a tried and proven method for inspiring students,” said Charles Weis, former superintendent, Ventura County Schools. “By providing students with multiple real work-world examples throughout the year, they learn about careers they may like, the education or training paths that lead to these careers, and what it takes to succeed. … Your plan for establishing baselines and measuring change will support … continuous improvement.”
“Presenting high school students with direct knowledge about career opportunities has always been highly effective in motivating them to advance towards gainful employment,” said Jaime Casillas, retired adminstrator with the Ventura County Community College District.
To get started, go to http://www.segueprogram.org/index.html to learn how you can be part of that next moment of inspiration.
— Frank X. Moraga is editor/publisher of Amigos805. He has served as business editor, director of diversity and general manager of a bilingual publication at the Ventura County Star, and as a reporter in the community editions of the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News.