And the Winner Is...

And the winner is… All the graduating St. Vincent De Paul interns. We held a ceremony yesterday for everyone who participated in the champion work force for at least six months. It was an honor to have seen the graduates take the stage. Many of them I had worked with as co-workers over the last 2 ½ months and have become pretty close to. There was an air of accomplishment for everyone there. The graduation ceremony was the culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of graduates and staff alike.

All of the people taking the stage were at one time clients of St. Vincent De Paul, and had worked their way through the champion workforce to become paid interns. I know for me personally it was an inspiring experience to see everyone up on the stage. Seeing J.R. (Jose Rodriguez), Sonia Munoz, Daniel Pena, Carolyn Malbrough, and everyone else speak on stage just solidified the fact for me that this place does a lot of good for people. Everyone who got up on stage thanked the staff and the organization of St. Vincent’s for giving them the opportunity that helped them get where they are today. I know that the staff was also very grateful for the hard work that the graduates put into their own lives to overcome challenges that may have stood in their way.
I think that it is important to recognize all the people that graduated as a testament to the graduates and Society’s hard work.

The graduates of the St. Vincent De Paul Champion Workforce are…

Donna B, Michael J, Rochelle ,
Alan N, Portia B, Sonia M,
Gary C, Roderick G, Carolyn M,
Wayne P, Charles H, Folami B,
Daniel P, Duane M, Sheri P,
Bobby S, Issac O,
Susie J, Jose R,
Ldia R, Phillip W,
Nadia R, Lillie H,
Dennis F, Johnny W,
Gilbert J, Lyndon W

I think that everyone who graduated from the champion workforce had to do one of the hardest things any man or women can do, and that is to change. They all had to make the choice to turn their lives around and do something different. St. Vincent’s was the vehicle to help them do that. I’ll end this blog with a quote by Sir Edmund Hilary, who was the first person to climb Mt. Everest. “It’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” I believe all the graduating interns reached the tops of their mountains yesterday, and are on their way to climbing ever higher and higher peaks.

~Mike