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in
the
BY JOHN HARDWICK
Getting To Work
NEXTGen
Connect
welcomes
Rachel Devries.
BECKY HURVITZ
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
ABOVE: Rachel Devries provides
advice to a job seeker.
16
August 9 • 2018
N
ecessity is indeed the mother
of invention. Such was the case
with the inception of NEXTGen
Connect, a partnership program between
Federation’s NEXTGen Detroit and JVS,
which helps young adult job seekers in
Metro Detroit.
From a grassroots effort spearheaded
by a group of Federation lay leaders, then
called CSI (College Student Internships)
to a staffed operation that has connected
more than 700 young adults to opportu-
nities in the last eight years, NEXTGen
Connect is helping 21- to 45-year-olds
overcome the challenges of launching and
developing meaningful careers.
Rachel Devries, NEXTGen Connect’s
new employment specialist (as of
December), is the third full-time staff
member to run the program. She knows
firsthand how important this program
has been and continues to be.
“I got my first job by working with JVS,
and I sure as heck got [this] my second
job through JVS. I get it; I get that it’s
hard. I also understand the difference
NEXTGen Connect can make when you’re
looking for a job,” Devries said. “The pro-
gram has a reputation that precedes me.
People in the community know about
NEXTGen Connect, so potential employ-
ers are actively reaching out and letting
me know what kinds of positions they
are looking to fill. But it took a lot of hard
work to get to this point.”
jn
Rewind to 2010, when Metro Detroit
was still feeling the effects of the reces-
sion. While established professionals cer-
tainly took a hit, the economic crisis also
was devastating for a generation of recent
college grads who were left with degrees
in hand and very few job opportunities.
“Companies weren’t hiring; they
simply couldn’t. The result was young
people leaving Metro Detroit and mov-
ing to other states to find work,” said
Amy Brody, NEXTGen Connect’s first
full-time staff member. “The situation
was extremely concerning to a group
of Federation lay leaders, so they began
using their connections, asking potential
employers if they would consider taking
on interns. A surprisingly large number
said ‘yes.’”
Brody, a law school student serving on
the NEXTGen Detroit Board of Directors
at the time, volunteered to take on the
task of helping connect young adults to
these internships.
“There might not have been jobs, but
there was the possibility of internships
and, in this way, we could keep young
people here, get them started in the work-
force, and hopefully gainful employment
would follow,” Brody said.
As the extent of the need became more
apparent, the program was formalized
through NEXTGen Detroit, and Brody
went from volunteer to the first NEXTGen
Connect staffer. JVS quickly came on
board, offering their employment services
and expertise. NEXTGen Detroit already
was attracting young people to their com-
munity events, many of whom were look-
ing for work; it was a perfect match.
Brody eventually passed the reins to
Lauren Rubin, the second full-time staffer
to run NEXTGen Connect. Rubin, who
split her time between NEXTGen Detroit
and JVS, grew the program as it shifted
away from internship placement and
began to take advantage of new employ-
ment opportunities. Networking events,
workshops and one-on-one services
became available and popular.
Meanwhile, Rachel Devries was figuring
out her career path with some help from
JVS.
“I graduated college and had no
idea what I wanted to do. My dad said,
‘Rachel. you need to work somewhere or
volunteer somewhere to find something
constructive and worthwhile to do.’ So I
contacted Tamarack Camps and asked if
I could volunteer,” Devries said. “When
I first started volunteering at Tamarack,
I thought it would be so cool if I could
actually work there, but I didn’t know
how to go about asking or what that
would even look like.”
While volunteering, Devries was still
looking for work, which took her to JVS.
There she met with a career counselor
who suggested that maybe this volun-
teer position she loved could turn into