Gerald Chertavian

Mentors provide professional networks, outlets for frustration, college and career counseling, general life advice, and most importantly, an extra voice telling a student they are smart enough and capable enough to cross the stage at graduation and land their first paycheck from a career pathway job. ”

At Year Up, we have helped thousands of students rise from poverty into a professional career in a single year. ”

Years ago, as I was beginning my professional career on Wall Street, I volunteered as a Big Brother in New York City. ”

The millennial generation and a growing number of employees are looking for more than just a paycheck. If a nonprofit could make that easy for me, they are doing me a favor. It's not just a one-way value exchange; it is an internal morale building opportunity. ”

You have, unfortunately, a K-12 educational system where the requirements to graduate are not the requirements to be college and career-ready. So if you want young adults who are college and career-ready, our K-12 system right now does not have that as its standard. ”

The saying in business is that, 'You hire for skills and you fire for behavior.' And one would argue that in order to move up in career, to be promoted, to take on additional responsibility, in many ways that's linked more to the attitudes and behaviors that you carry rather than what you know technically about a given subject. ”

Our young immigrants have a lot to offer. They are motivated and hard-working, and in many cases have already contributed significantly to our society - by excelling in school, by volunteering in their communities, or by serving in the military. ”

It's not always the case that doing what's right is also doing what's smart, but when it is, the question of 'what to do' should be pretty simple. ”

As we say at Year Up all the time, investing in our young people is not just a matter of economic justice. It's good business sense. ”

I've never been afraid to make a polite ask to someone. ”