the
Newsletter Issue 4 Vol. 10 July 2022
Melvin Sudbeck (Center), Sud-
beck Homes President, is happy
to receive a “Friend of Avenue
Scholars” award from Anthony
Tate, Postsecondary Career
Coach, and Ken Bird, Avenue
Scholars President & CEO, during
the Avenue Scholars annual Cele-
bration Luncheon. The luncheon
had been cancelled the previous
two years due to the pandemic.
Spring luncheon welcomes Scholars
Terrence Gillian, Benson High School
Career Coach, applauds his Scholars.
Tonya Fairgood, Postsecondary Career
Coach, and Kamara Cullins, an Avenue
Scholars alum, are all smiles following
the luncheon.
Avenue Scholars Alum Biye Belew
expresses his thanks for the Avenue
Scholars experience.
Canei Rodriquez, Postsecondary Ca-
reer Coach, introduces Biye Belew.
The Avenue Scholars
Celebration Luncheon
returned to Baxter Arena
April 27.
Jason Boyd, Director of
High School Programs, wel
-
comed the 2022-2023 class
of new Scholars.
Tonya Fairgood, Post-
secondary Career Coach,
introduced Kamara Cullins,
an Avenue Scholars alum
who gave an impassioned
speech regarding the
path she took through the
program to achieve career
success.
“Friends of Avenue Schol-
ars” honors were awarded
to QLI (presented by Ken
Bird, President & CEO),
Werner Technology (pre
-
sented by Lindsay Decker,
Business Outreach Coordi
-
nator), and Sudbeck Homes
(presented by Anthony
Tate, Postsecondary Career
Coach).
happy to receive a “Friend of Journalism” award at the luncheon. Presenters
(from left) were Ken Bird, President & CEO; Lindsay Decker, Business Out-
reach Coordinator; and Mike Alvano, COO & CFO.
2 July 2022
Avenue Scholars Newsletter
By all measures, the Charles E. Lakin Foundation got what
it was looking for when its board approved funding the Ave-
nue Scholars healthcare program three years ago.
At the time, Steve Wild, President of the Charles E. Lakin
Foundation, said he was happy the Lakin Foundation could
expansion of the healthcare initiative at Avenue Scholars.
“I really admire the results of what Avenue Scholars has
built in terms of a program that serves the community,”
Wild said. “After I became president, we made a determina-
tion that we did not want to look at or solicit applications
for grants. We want to be very strategic in
organizations that would take us in the di-
rection we want to go.”
Jennifer Green, the Lakin Foundation’s
Operations & Grant Manager, says Charles
Lakin was a big proponent of “people
bringing themselves out of poverty and
was most interested in supporting a pro-
gram that would be making the biggest
-
ful career pathway.
“We could see that healthcare was by
far the largest and most popular pathway that Avenue Schol-
ars had,” Green said. “By funding this program, we knew we
could impact the most students coming through.”
Pleased with the current success, the Lakin Foundation
approved in the fall of 2021 another 3-year grant to fund the
healthcare program. With the pandemic over the past two
years, Wild has noticed how much the healthcare program
through Avenue Scholars has continued to thrive despite the
challenges.
-
ible, and the demand for more healthcare professionals
increased,” Wild said. “We were very impressed with the
results they were able to accomplish in a very tough envi-
ronment.”
Postsecondary Career Coaches Tonya Fairgood and Canei
Rodriquez are responsible for the healthcare students case-
loads; they are proud of the program’s success, noting the
process can be “very rigorous at times.”
“In order to maintain high grades, one must be willing
to designate at least 4 hours or more toward studying ev-
ery day,” Fairgood said. “Balance is the ‘simple key’ that we
use as coaches. We have to teach students to balance their
coursework, employment, as well as their personal lives in a
manner that is going to help them be more successful.”
The base requirement for students entering the health-
-
“As healthcare coaches, we are adamant about students
obtaining their CNAs at the very least,” Fairgood said. “A CNA
can turn into a career for some individuals, so getting it as
early as possible (age 16) has been essential in moving into
other careers in health care.”
Avenue Scholars students are given the opportunity to
take CNA training during their junior year and begin work-
obtain a CNA through Senior Academy.
Several professional organizations and businesses have
partnered with Avenue Scholars to assist students seeking
to obtain a CNA. They include QLI, Fulton Homes, Quality
Career Pathways, and Methodist College.
Fairgood and Rodriquez say their goal
is for every student that comes into the
healthcare program to leave with at least
-
ciate degree.
Currently, 72 students are enrolled in
the healthcare program, and of those, 69
are employed in the industry. From 2017
to 2022, students have obtained 183
-
cations include CNA, CMA, LPN, Paramed-
icine, Medical Assistants, Sterile Process-
ing, EMT, RN, Respiratory Therapy, and Pharmacy Tech.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare is
the fastest growing industry and expected to add the most
jobs in the next 10 years.
“The healthcare industry is very high in demand, and we
are very happy to coach students with a desire to pursue a
career inside it,” Fairgood said.
All High School Career Coaches are responsible for assist-
interests and skills. The healthcare pathway has been popu-
lar at Papillion-LaVista High School.
“I have been able to watch eight of my students over the
past two years earn their CNA license thanks to generous
funding,” says Papillion-LaVista High School Career Coach
Ashley Knott. “For each of these students, this step has al-
lowed them to gain a much deeper understanding of their
-
mands of state licensure processes.”
-
tures ahead of them.
“Each one was beaming when they called, texted, or re-
turned to class to let me know they had, in fact, passed their
written exam and practical exams,” she said. “Even better,
I hear such passion and eagerness to learn and do right by
individuals but also for the greater community at large.”
Lakin Foundation boosts healthcare initiative
Avenue Scholars Newsletter
July 2022
3
AVENUE SCHOLARS
Staff
KEN BIRD
President/CEO
MIKE ALVANO
Chief Financial Ofcer
KRIS VALENTIN
Senior Director of HR
and Administrative Services
LISA STERBA
Senior Director of Programs
CATIE DAGLE
Director of Information
& Quality Assurance
LINDSAY DECKER
Director of Communications
& Development
MICHAEL JOHNSON
Assistant Director
of Programs
PENNY DARNELL
Accounting Manager
BEVERLY HASS
Executive Assistant to CEO
& Events Coordinator
KRISTY PREUSS
Ofce & Staff Assistant
Student Support:
JANAE DONALDSON, Director
of Student Support; Stephanie
Kellum, Coordinator
Postsecondary Coaches:
TONYA FAIRGOOD, *Dept.
Head;
Anthony Tate, Dan Cor-
ral, Canei Rodriquez, Marcus
Manley, Tom Prescott
High School Coaches
ASHLEY KNOTT, *Dept Head;
Terrence Gillian, Allison Goff,
Beth Leach, Fred Starks, Kam-
ina Lemons, Marquita Lambert,
Vanessa Collins
Business Outreach Team:
KATHY MCGAUVRAN, *Dept
Head; Audrey Gustin, Jessi
Hedlund, Intern Coordinators
JAMAR DORSEY, Sr.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
& Community Engagement
Consultant
ROD HOWE
Communications Consultant
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SUSIE BUFFETT
“Avenue Scholars, the leader
in bridging the gap between
education and business,
guarantees careers for our
youth of hope and need
through supportive relation
-
ships, individualized coaching,
education, and training.
”
Avenue Scholars
7101 Mercy Road, Suite 240
Omaha, NE 68106
Millard North
students
applaud one of
their classmates
who received a
Special Recogni-
tion honor.
ABOVE. Scholar Samuel
LaPlante welcomes guests to
the Senior Academy Celebra-
tion Luncheon.
Senior Academy
luncheon celebrates
student achievement
LEFT. Omaha South Career
Coach Vanessa Collins an-
nounces her Senior Academy
graduates.
BELOW. Scholar Shohina
Sultonova introduces the next
speaker.
Senior Academy graduates were
honored at a luncheon celebration,
held May 4 at the Stockyards Ball-
room. Graduates Shohina Sultonova
and Samuel LaPlante were emcees
for the event. Graduates A’Myrah
Johnson and Estefany Orope-
za-Cortes spoke about their “College
Dreams.”
Lance Paqua, Ralston Avenue
Scholar Alumni, talked to 2022 Se-
nior Scholars about his journey to a
industry.
High School Career Coaches Alli-
son Goff (Millard North), Marquita
Lambert (Millard South), Terrence
Gillian (Omaha Benson), Kamina
Lemons (Omaha Bryan), Fred Starks
(Omaha North), Taleya Broadway
(Omaha Northwest), Vanessa Collins
(Omaha South), Ashley Knott (Papil-
lion), and Beth Leach (Ralston) rec-
ognized each of their Class of 2022
graduates. Beth Leach and Allison
Goff announced “Special Recogni-
tion” honorees.
Marcus Manley, Postsecondary
Team, and Tyler Cannon, MCC Navi-
gator, provided comments represent-
ing their respective programs.
Chair
JEFF SCHMID
CALVIN SISSON
KATIE WEITZ
Directors
4 July 2022
Avenue Scholars Newsletter
Community Engagement
JAMAR DORSEY, Ed.D.
Community Engagement Corner for the 2021-2022 calendar year. Our
Avenue Scholars program is excited to engage students, staff, and the
community this summer.
Avenue Scholars core values are integrity, innovation, collaboration,
respect, and hope. This column will speak to the value of Innovation.
summer Avenue Scholars will be innovative in how they offer services to
the newly inducted 10th grade students and all current Avenue Scholar
participants. The community can look forward to seeing Avenue Schol
-
ars in the community with internships, taking summer classes, partic-
ipating in boot camps, working full-time jobs, creating spaces to have
critical conversations, and leading youth initiatives with other similar
focus group of three to four students from each participating organi
-
zation: NorthStar, Avenue Scholars, Partnerships for Kids, Completely
can speak their truths and address issues through dialogue on a quar
-
headquarters. Each group presented a proposal on how to impact the
community. They will work on their social justice projects in July and
present to the community to kick off the 2022-23 school year. I would
like to personally the CEOs for believing in this vision and supporting
this joint effort. I also applaud the staff members and students for being
creative and authentic people in this safe space to bring awareness and
to educate the community collectively.
Avenue Scholars staff will also have the opportunities to engage in
neighborhood cleanups in the communities in which their students
reside. In the month of May Avenue Scholars staff engaged in the last
inclusion book club meeting of the calendar year. The reading was The
Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. Staff were presented with several
-
ing while also building personal perspective.
Lastly, I have enjoyed writing these columns for the Omaha communi
-
ty and appreciate the support of all of our stakeholders. I want to leave
you with something to ponder over the next few months until we meet
again in this space. The topic is “representation.” Representation is fun-
damentally vital to see across different industries and media. It allows
marginalized people to imagine a future outside of their reality and con-
sider new possibilities that have been systematically out of reach. Every
day, society bombards us with rhetoric and media that tell us what can
and cannot be achieved — and who can and cannot achieve it. Seeing
-
erty is paramount on an individual, societal, and political level.
Until next time — don’t conform to the environment, make the envi-
ronment conform to you.
Avenue Scholars Staff
and new Youth Council
focus on Social Justice
Lance Paqua, a 2018 Ralston High
School graduate, was the keynote
speaker at the Senior Academy Cele-
bration luncheon, held May 4 at the
Livestock Exchange Ballroom. In his
address, Paqua reviewed for Avenue
Scholars seniors how his participation
in the AS program guided him to a
Ralston High School Career Coach
Beth Leach says Paqua was a leader
in the classroom and in the program,
noting he was a state champion with
Skills USA.
“Lance was always working jobs
where he worked really, really hard,”
Leach said. “He worked with a crew at
Monster Tree Service and led a kitch-
en as a cook at Spaghetti Works.”
In March of his senior year Paqua
landed a position with Local 464
-
ple much older and more experienced
for his spot,” Leach said.
“What makes Lance incredibly
unique is his grit and determination
in the face of adversity,” Leach said.
“He is a very focused and hard worker,
-
ize off opportunities. In addition, he
makes the tough decisions to put him-
self in a better place for the present
and for the future.”
In his spare time, Paqua trains and
competes as a “winning boxer,” rep-
resenting his local union at a recent
Blue Collar Boxing event.
Ralston graduate provides
keynote address at luncheon
