Rosalind, SFRAW

For Rosalind school had always been a challenge and she felt like an outsider. As a child of immigrants, English was not her first language and she struggled with reading and writing, which led to low confidence. She dreamed of being able to contribute to her family and having a career but could not imagine who would give her a job.

At John O’Connel High School, she connected to JVS’s School Partner Program and enrolled in our Culinary and Entrepreneurship Program which combined job readiness training, classroom education and work-based learning. JVS placed Rosalind in internships at multiple Bay Area companies, including Zynga’s culinary department, Catheads BBQ Restaurant, SF Raw and the San Francisco SPCA. With the support and guidance of JVS, Rosalind identified her passion for animals and food and figured out a way to combine the two into a career. Today she works at SF Raw making organic food for cats and dogs and is enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at City College.

“Working at SFRAW has been great. I’m more confident now and I’m comfortable talking to customers. I realized what I want to do with my life.” – Rosalind