Marriott Foundation - Bridges

Bridges from school to work is a program of the Marriott Foundation that enhances employment opportunities for young people with disabilities

by effectively matching them to employers’ entry-level workforce needs.

This goal is assisted by a weekly job club with the Bridges Employer Representatives and the

Roosevelt University volunteers.

What Bridges Means to the Chicago Students:

What Bridges Means to the Chicago Participants

Faith

Faith, Get a job, work hard, and save

money. Believe in yourself. Never give

up on self, having faith in your dreams

- Jorian Beasley -

Commitment

Commitment, I am committed to Bridges, just as Bridges is committed to

me on finding a job. - Daniel Bracero -

Confidence

Bridges means that I have confidence in finding a

job. - Ashley Keating -

Belief

Belief, Bridges means to me to have confidence and faith and to trust

them to help me find a job so I can have a better

life. - Patrick Keating -

Courage

Courage, I say this because I want to be on my square

with life and it will teaching me for the world.

-Terrance Ford -

Courage

Power

Power, power I have to work hard to get a job.

- Shonette Sanders -

Independence

Independence, because it shows that I will be on my own and that I’m ready to

enter the real world. - Shaquille Vortes -

Trust

I trust the Marriott Bridges program because of one person and that person is Kelly. She has gone out of her way to help me and

other kids like us. She has made it so that I can get

my own job. - Geno Pitts -

Determination

Determination, I have determination to come

here on time and find the right job.

-Hannah Sabbath-

Drive

Drive, to strive vigorously toward a goal or objective;

to work hard and try wholeheartedly with

determination.- Alberto Leon -

Independence

Independence, to have a job that you can keep, you

have freedom. I think it means you have to be supportive of yourself.

- Travis Johnson -

Confidence

Confidence is my word because it gives me the confidence to speak in a

job interview.- Samantha Shelby -

Power

This program means that to help me find a job. Power means to have

trust in somebody.- Michael Rivers -

Drive

Drive, I choose this work because everyone in this

program is here to accomplish his or her

goals to get a job. - Alyssa Cruz-

Courage

Courage, I choose this word because to me, it

feels like I can do everything no matter how

hard it is. - Ryan Griggs -

Ambition

Ambition, I picked this word because I am

achieving all my goals and gain abilities.

- DeAndre Eason-

Strength

Bridges, Strength quality of being mentally power

or vigorous.- Demetrius McGreyor -

Ambition

Ambition, an earnest desire to achieve. Bridges

means ambition to me because everyone that’s

here is here for one reason to find a job. No

matter the reason, we are all aimed at the same

goal, to find a job. - Kevin King -

Understanding

Understanding, I picked understanding because

some times when people tell me to do something, I can understand what they

are talking about. - Denise Miller -

Overcome

Overcome, and the reason why I choose the word overcome is because I believe I can overcome any obstacles that life

throws my way. - Mila Washington –

Drive

Drive, I choose this word because it describes that I

have to drive to do anything I put my mind to.

- LaTroya Hewitt -

Dream

Dream, I choose this word because I have many dreams that I want to accomplish and some

dreams take hard work and dedication. In order to

make the dreams come true you have to believe that you could make it

come true. - Roger Lopez -

Independence, Confidence, Belief, Achievement, Accomplishment,

Overcome Independence, I choose this word because I am mostly independent. Confidence, I choose this word because I believe I can succeed in life. Achievement, I choose this

word because I like to accomplish something really big. Overcome, I choose this work because I would like to

over come my struggles in life.

- Deonte Allen-

So many things…

Power, Faith, Trust, Loyal.- Millard Baker -

What Bridges Means to the Roosevelt University Mentors

Influence

Being a mentor, it is expected that the

participants will be influenced by my words and actions, however, because

of the influence of the young adults at Bridges, I hold more confidence and

compassion. These qualities will enable me to become

an exceptional leader. – Jana Mazan -

Empathy

This experience has provided me with the understanding of the

struggles of others and given me the incredible opportunity to aid these remarkable young adults.

- Colleen Husted -

Experience

We each have certain experiences that change

our lives. For me, the Bridges program was what

opened my eyes to realizing how much I have

to be thankful for, and what I can do to help make a difference. - Amanda Fritz -

Leadership

Leadership is what I have gained by being a mentor

for the Marriott Foundations Bridges program. By working with this program it gave me

an opportunity to take a significant role as a leader and help them succeed in

their effort to gain employment.- Erin Foley -

Eye-Opening

Mentoring for Bridges was eye opening to me in many ways. Noticing the strive to succeed from each member of job club inspired me to do my best to

help them in any way possible. I left every job club with a

smile on my face. - Nicole Velez -

Humbling

For me mentoring was a very humbling experience. It

taught me how to be more appreciative of what I have and not take anything for

granted. It made me realize the important things in life

and what really matters.- Melanie Lindsay -

Inspiration

This overall experience has inspired me to look at my

own opportunities in a different light, and to be

grateful for all of those work experiences, good or bad. I’m truly grateful to have

met all of them, and know that I have made and impact

in some small way.- Jannifer Armenta -

Patience

Job Club has really opened my eyes to a lot of new

experiences and situations that I may have not

experienced before, and I am grateful for having this

opportunity. - Emily Bertran -

Results: 30 hires in the past 3 months!

• PetSmart• Monterey Security• 7-Eleven• Lyric Opera of Chicago• Jewel-Osco•Target

• Dominick’s• Food 4 Less• Pump it up• Aldi• Dollar Tree• Chicago Midway

And More!

With your generous support, we can continue to aid these students in

finding gainful employment!!