This summer more students get the break they need

There’s no better spokesperson for a summer job than Greg Damas, currently a rising junior at Villanova majoring in finance, who got his big break at 14 when he was an intern at Comcast, thanks to Philadelphia’s summer job program, WorkReady.

It’s exactly the chance so many young people in our region need and that’s why we make advocating for additional funding for the summer job program a priority.

This year, thanks in large part to PCCY, the City increased funding by $1 million for the program that benefits not only 8,500 young, eager workers, but also the organizations that employ them. 

This week, Greg spoke at the program’s 2019 launch. (These remarks have been edited for length):

Sometimes it is by chance that blessings enter our lives. It is certainly by chance that I found out about WorkReady. Before my very eyes I was engulfed with working as a Human Resources intern at Comcast in the City of Philadelphia and I had the opportunity to connect with young business professionals as well.

I had way more responsibilities, my manager would hold me accountable for my actions and I realized very early on that I needed to be consistent in my approach to any of the projects that I worked on in order to find success.

Instead of spending everything I had on Jordan’s every chance I got, the program taught me better money habits to make each paycheck last. To this day, I probably would not know how to manage a checkbook, how to build credit, how to write a check or how to budget and save. On top of the time spent working, WorkReady also provided a professional development program every week. It was there that I received my earliest exposure to different career opportunities within business, an exposure that had a significant impact on my decision to pursue a major in finance at Villanova University.

If you take nothing away from what I say this morning, I hope you understand that young people need these kinds of opportunities because sometimes the biggest obstacles in our journey to prosperity is ourselves. For so long I limited myself in terms of what I felt I was capable of. Sometimes feeling like I did not have what it takes. Sometimes feeling like an imposter in my own
skin. I know many teens feel that way at some point.

Taking part in [this] program helped me realize a lot about myself. It made me realize that I had the ability to take over the world and that I needed to stop selling myself short. That when faced with moments of inadequacies, three things would always be clear: I am capable. I am allowed to learn. I belong.

Greg Damas
June 17, 2019