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Career Coach
Project Youth +
Born and raised in Sam’s Valley here in Southern Oregon, Drew Wilkerson shares his passion to serve our youth in Project Youth Plus’s Career Build Program.
For the past 7 years Drew his worked in and around the public schools and still finds time to be active in athletics as an MS Athletic Director.
To help support Project Youth Plus and find out more about their various programs to help our youth, please go the the resources below or give them a call at the number below! 🙂
Call Project Youth Plus today – (541) 476-8146
Website – https://projectyouthplus.org/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ProjectYouthPlus/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/projectyouthplus/
Show Notes
The Focus of Project Youth Plus
How I Got Started With Project Youth Plus
Life Growing Up In Sam’s Valley in Southern Oregon
Guiding Youth Through Individual Road Maps for Success
Thankful For Community Support for Project Youth Plus
What I Like Most About Working With Project Youth Plus
Continuing To Get Our Message Out To Businesses In Jackson, Josephine and Douglas Counties
Transcription
Intro Drew: Flexibility, I think is key in being able to keep that spark and keep that interest. Because if you’re really going to be able to meet youth where they’re at, there has to be some type of flexibility, I think built into that.
But being able to meet a youth where they’re at in life, again, it’s very broad.
That’s something that is exciting because you have all the tools, and you’re able to exercise different types of tools at different circumstances. And so by doing that, you can create interest, I think, within that youth.
And that’s the goal for them to have that spark.
Podcast Intro: There’s a place in Southern Oregon, filled with gorgeous natural beauty, friendly yet independent people and a mild, comfortable climate.
That place is called Grants Pass.
These are the stories of the people that live and work Josephine County. These are the movers and shakers that make this place of the best.
This is Grants Pass VIP.
Brian: Drew Wilkerson is the GP Career Coach for the Career Build Program with Project Youth Plus.
Coming from serving in public schools for the past seven years, Drew is still active and athletics. He’s very much youth-centered and goal-oriented.
Drew Wilkerson welcome.
Drew: Really appreciate it Brian, thank you very much. Looking forward to this.
Brian: Yeah, no, I’m really happy to have you here.
We met over at the Chamber of Commerce and we’ve been talking about getting together for a while. So this is great to have you here.
Why don’t you let everyone know more about who you are, and where people might know you from.
Drew: Sure.
Kind of like in that intro, having spent a number of years in the public schools, you get to know I think quite a few people in there and working with students and a wide variety of ways.
And so by getting connected with College Dream, now with Project Youth Plus, I get to continue, I think just different ways of serving youth, and working with people that are very like-minded and trying to meet people where they’re at, in all different walks of life.
Trying to help them I think just take the next step towards their goals, kind of making it a reality. Not everyone fits the same type of shoe. And so it’s always an adventure coming from that background.
Within the schools, you know, again, you get to know quite a few people serve in youth, but then also now in the nonprofit world and where we get to expand our borders, in different ways to serve youth, but also how we do it.
At the same time, two different worlds, we got the public schools and education route, we got the nonprofit world, definitely two different worlds, but different ways of serving.
That’s really where the heart is.
Within the schools, I still serve as an athletic director at a middle school. And so that’s an avenue where in different, you know, different types of folks that you cross paths with.
And so a couple of different hats that I wear just in general, but the focus is the same. At the end of the day, whoever walks through the door that’s who we’re serving. And that’s why we’re here.
Brian: For someone that has absolutely no idea what Project Youth Plus is and everything else that you do once you give them a synopsis.
Drew: Sure, Project Youth Plus recently changed their name within the last year from College Dreams. So name change, same focus though.
And kind of on a side note, when I was in the schools, we would cross paths with a College Dreams, folks. And so it was super neat to be able to do that.
But just in an atoll, Project Youth Plus, we prepare just low income, first-generation, maybe underrepresented youth to thrive in just schools, career, and just in general.
So there’s a lot of ways that we can do that. And we have a staff that is just so multi-talented I think with the gifts that they bring to the table.
Where we can really have unique I think relationships with our youth, preparing them, challenging them, and hopefully strengthen them to believe in themselves.
The programs that we have are kind of geared at how we really look at one, you know, again, serving youth, but it also just expands the borders, I think, and how we do it.
So being able to do that is an absolute thrill. Every single day I get to wake up, we’ve got some people who have been doing it for quite a while. It’s great. So that’s kind of that in a nutshell.
Brian: Great. So how did you end up here what brought you into this position?
Drew: Coming from the schools I had crossed paths with you know a number of youth and I had worked nonprofit in the past sort of an at-risk youth before jumping into the public schools.
And so I kind of already dabbled, I guess into that world. So I knew that there were other ways to serve youth.
I always just kept that in the back of my head. And I’m going No, there’s a way around this, there’s a different way that we can serve and this is who we can go to for that even though I may have restrictions, I know this person can go a little bit extra, in a different way, different angle type of thing.
And so I think it was a long time coming with the nail to get into this gig. And this is where you get a really just plant the roots and work with some just fantastic people.
So I love it.
Brian: Wow, that’s great.
Do you live in Grants Pass or do you just work here?
How does that work?
Drew: So I live in Central Point. So I commute out to Grants Pass and meet for meetings, or just kind of on a basis. But I’m out in Grants Pass quite a bit.
Brian: Yeah.
Did you grow up in Southern Oregon or are you from elsewhere?
Drew: I grew up in Sam’s Valley, or again, for those who may not know where that is, that’s okay. That’s between Golden Hill and Eagle Point. It is called the country.
I grew up there, I grew up on a farm. And so we did a lot of just work, you know, in general.
And so I married my high school sweetheart. We knew that we would eventually come back here, we left for a while.
But when we came back here, this is kind of where both our families are having grown up here, you get to know some familiar faces right?
Now we’re just a little bit older but I still like them. I mean, it’s okay. Something to be very thankful for.
Brian: Could you describe for us what a typical day is for you?
What type of things do you do on a regular basis?
Drew: Yeah.
Blessed with a pretty flexible schedule, and being able to, to really match our schedule to kind of the needs of those that we’re serving. And so there are always ways to plug in and make a full day for sure.
Being able to, at least for myself, to cap at a certain point can be a challenge. But could you know, you just get in a group and you’re just doing your thing.
So you know, a typical day can range from meeting with youth and talking goals over coffee or getting their documentations, I think figured out so whether someone needs shelter security card, or birth certificate, or just a regular ID.
That’s something that will set a meeting aside and say, Okay, this is what we’re going to focus on today, we have a roadmap that we really are trying to follow, and with all of our youth.
Being able to make sure that they are as equipped, as much as possible is kind of their goal. And so every youth that we meet with on a regular basis is in a different spot.
So whether that’s done over coffee, whether that is done through the world of zoom, you know, it just varies, right?
We try and get as many youths connected within our workshops. These things are just built and geared towards helping these youth build a resume, but also take that next step for themselves personally.
So typical day, pretty tough to kind of say. It’s not all the same.
That’s what’s also kind of exciting about that part and the flexibility is, is something very gracious, I think handed down, but leadership allows us just to find our groove, find our connection and do our thing and meet our youth where they’re at. So it’s awesome.
Brian: Now, is this kind of locally centered?
Is there local leadership, or is this more of a national organization, how’s that setup?
Drew: Yeah, great question.
You know, it’s a local organization, the Drummond’s started this program about 25 years ago, in Grants Pass, and that is where it planted its roots. That’s where it’s began to blossom.
I think from there, and now we’re reaching from not just Josephine County, but we’re trying to reach into the Jackson County and get established within Jackson County.
So we’re reaching into the schools. We’re also so in school staff. We’re also reaching to out of school staff and so looking at where the program started from in school, now expanding into the out of school arena, I guess, has been a really big you know, just game changer because that’s another group of individuals that we can invest in as well.
The program has expanded into the different ways that we are able to meet with our youth, the four different programs, having started from in-school staff, right.
Going to you know whatever it takes. It’s a different angle within in school. So you have the advisors, you have the whatever it takes crew. So a lot of the whatever it takes crew are going to be angled and focused in on maybe the kids that are maybe falling through within the schools.
Advisors maybe are dealing with a different type of population, you know, within the school’s career build, we’re out of school staff and where we’re ranging 16 to 24.
We’re, it’s career-focused or it’s education secondary focused, or just helping people get their GED to get their next step. So it kind of it’s, it varies.
Yeah, we got that plus accounts, that provide matched savings for colleges, for college students, or college-bound students, or, you know, just occupational training just in general.
So, for programs geared towards kind of a wraparound into these youth, to get them to believe in themselves to grow, and just go for it. That’s pretty exciting.
Brian: Yeah.
Drew: But then again, I’m a coach. And so I’m already kind of geared towards, yeah, let’s go, you know, that type of thing.
Brian: Absolutely.
Well, and as an organization like this, is there anything specific that you’re looking from the community and from local businesses?
What do you need most of what, what type of support are you looking for?
Drew: We’ve been recently doing this capital campaign, and where we’re just continuing to ask for support, I think, just from community-wise, and they have been so gracious to us, in the support shown towards just organization and the group of people just being able to come and do what we do.
And so the community has been incredible.
I think with that with Josephine County, for sure, Jackson County, growing in that awareness of what we do, and how we do it.
Business-wise, always looking for business support because there’s a couple of different ways that we try to engage with businesses because from a capital campaign standpoint, and financial support is always helpful.
All this money is going to the organization and for these youth to grow.
But then also, you know, we’re trying to hit a different angle, when we’re working with youth in a cooperative work experience, type of capacity.
Think of it as like a paid internship, and where we’re building a relationship with businesses and have and they’ve done it just an incredible job, I think with establishing that point.
But trying to get more experience for you to have that opportunity for one to say, hey, you know, I’m curious about welding.
What does that look like being able to give them the opportunity to step into a business, we would pay for them to be at that establishment.
The exchange is, hey, businesses are going to really kind of just show like, hey, this is kind of what it looks like, here are some things that you can do, here are some job responsibilities we got to about 150 to 200 hours, that we can do this internship.
And so that’s a great way I think building relationships with businesses to continue to show all the different ways that people can get into careers. So you’re not just locked into one, and that you’re not super jazzed about, but it’s one that that you can learn and keep rolling.
So a couple different ways that we really try and continue to engage with our local businesses, for sure.
Commercial: Okay, let’s take a break from that conversation. I wanted to bring up a question for you, during these crazy times, do you feel like your business is indestructible?
Most people don’t and if not, the real question is why?
And what can you do to make it as indestructible as possible?
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This is a way that you can completely take Amazon’s idea and twist it into something directly for your own Amazon Prime’s a major deal in the success behind amazon.com.
You can get it to work for you, even if you just work on a local level.
But I also have eight other ways to Amazon-Proof your business basically the idea of making it competition-proof to even someone as big as amazon.com.
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In addition to that, if you happen to be in the Josephine County area or nearby, and you’re looking to have a speaker come and discuss these types of issues with your organization, club, or group of friends, then I have a limited calendar that I may be able to fit you into.
Go check out BrianJPombo.com/Speaking and fill out the application. We’ll be sure and get back to you on that. And now let’s get back to our show.
Brian: What do you like most about this organization and the work that you specifically do? What do you like most about your position?
Drew: Probably flexibility.
Flexibility, I think is key and being able to keep that spark and keep that interest. Because if you’re really going to be able to meet youth where they’re at, there has to be some type of flexibility I think built into that, which is great.
But being able to meet a youth where they’re at in life, again, it’s very broad, that’s something that is is exciting because you have all the tools, and you’re able to exercise different types of tools at different circumstances.
And so by doing that, you can create interest, I think within that youth.
That’s the goal for them to have that spark, but also think outside the box and that’s exactly what this organization does.
And so I think it’s inspiring to look at even on the website, do a great job with being able to show that inspiration. But these are real-life situations and so the flexibility piece, I think is key to create that spark with people’s interest and being able to grow.
So that’s what I love.
Brian: Right on, that’s great.
On the flip side, if there is one thing that you can change about what you do or the surrounding area of what it is that you do, what would that be?
Drew: That’s a tough question.
I work with a lot of staff members that are just naturally geared to be proactive. You know, I don’t know if I would really change anything right now, I would probably continue to get the awareness of the organization out to two local businesses in both Josephine Jackson, but I forgot to mention even to Douglas County, you know, as well.
So kind of expanding the borders not to overstretch us, but to continue reaching youth.
That’s what I would probably be geared towards, rather than change something.
Brian: That’s great.
So if you and I were to get together, say in like a year, and we were to look back over the past 12 months, what would you say would have to happen for you to feel happy with your progress, both professionally and personally?
Drew: I swing it back to the heart issue like there has to be a reason why you’re doing what you do, and there has to be a purpose.
And my purpose and my hope is that I kept grounded, I think anchored. I always use the term anchored. If I kept anchored in the main purpose of why I’m here, and that is serving youth and not to get there’s always going to be distractions out there.
And so if I were to ever look back and say, okay, did I hold on to the purpose of what I do, and that’s serving youth going back even to the mission statement, which is increasing access to opportunities for youth to thrive in school careers and life?
I think that’s a real easy reflection.
And the question is, okay, did I do it, if I can answer yes, I did the best I could and that’s progress. But my motives I think, is keeping anchored on that there, you know, again, distractions are going to be all over the place and stresses and things that will try and take you down rabbit past.
But, you know, we’re here to serve youth in a wide variety of ways. And so if I can do that, that’s great.
Brian: That’s great.
I think that’s a great goal to have, you know, where you’re going with that. It’s more of what you’re, what you’re not doing that you got to keep not doing that makes makes everything worthwhile. I get that.
Drew: Yeah absolutely. You know, it’s just being honest with yourself. Is it a calling? Is it a sort of job? Is it whatever someone categorizes that, for me, paying it back to that mission statement, that’s going to be the guiding tool, and just having a passion to be able to do it?
Brian: Absolutely. Well, that’s fabulous.
As we start to wind down here a little bit. I was just wondering, is there anything I haven’t asked you that you’d like to answer?
Drew: I think the more that Project Youth Plus, I think begins to, and continues to grow in the ways that we serve youth, you know, we have a GED program that’s getting up and going and established for this year.
And so that’s within the Career Build program. And so being able to support that, and in our youth, whether they’re coming from the in-school youth, or where they’re out of school later on in life, hey, I’ve got to finish up my stuff within education.
That’s okay, at least there’s an option and an avenue, I think to be able to do that.
There are so many different ways I think, Project Youth Plus, like, truly invest in not just youth, but in their community, in their people that they truly just believe in them. And that goes really far.
I think in people just knowing that reinvesting that energy into your team. You know, again, I’m a sports guy, and team-oriented, just in general. The culture Project Youth Plus is one that is dynamic. It’s very passionate. It’s very purposeful, and just emphasizing that when we come into contact with businesses.
Like our intention is, how can we get this youth to grow at the end of the day?
Like, how do we do that?
Can we team up with you to be able to do that?
It’s great.
And there are things that I am not mentioning because there are just so many different things moving at the same time. It’s one where we’re just continuing to grow, and ways to support youth is fantastic.
Brian: Well, if someone wanted to find out more about Project Youth Plus and the Career Build Program, and everything else that is that you guys do, where would they go for that?
Drew: Yeah, great question.
You know, there’s whether that person is in school staff, let’s say in Josephine County, just because that’s where our roots are.
The majority of the schools have a representative there in the school. And so just checking into your main office, hey, where’s the project your staff, and they can definitely get you connected.
If you’re in high school, the same type of thing. College and career folks, yeah, Project Youth Plus, it’s a very common name. That’s one way to do it.
So that in person or go to another way, is just going to just ProjectYouthPlus.org, just the main website and checking out all the different ways to get plugged in to support but also just get a better idea of kind of what we do.
Always welcome to give us a phone call. I would say text, but you can’t text, but you can definitely go and give us a phone call at 476-8146.
We have Facebook page, and Instagram as well. Couple different ways social media wise to check it out.
One mission serving youth and all those capacities.
Brian: Oh, that’s just great.
It’s really cool to find out about these great opportunities that are out there that are hidden for most people in public. You know, most people aren’t in school and if they have kids, they’re in school, they may not know about all these great things. So it’s really fabulous getting to talk some more about it with you Drew.
Drew Wilkerson with Project Youth Plus, thanks so much for being on Grants Pass VIP.
Drew: I really appreciate the opportunity.
Thank you very much.
Brian: Yeah.
Brian’s Closing Thoughts: Well, was really great getting to talk with Drew.
So as I said, we had met earlier and he’s just an all around nice guy. He really is.
We got to talk a little bit before and a little bit after the recording that you’ve already heard and he’s just as genuine and easygoing as he is during our conversation. That’s really cool.
And the fact that he is giving his seal of approval with the people that work with Project Youth Plus. I have a lot of trust in that based on the fact that I have a lot of trust in Drew and he gave us a very, very brief overview of what seems to be a very large, robust program with a lot of different pieces to it.
It’s really cool to be able to hear that I’m sure that many of you here this is the first time that you’ve heard of this before.
I’m going to suggest that you dig in deeper. One of the things that Drwe and I discussed is I have experience in high school working with programs that help prepare people for the workforce.
One specifically was I was involved with Future Farmers of America when I was in high school, even though I wasn’t planning on being a farmer there were so many other pieces of that that helped you to either go into business for yourself or work with others as an employee, that it was extremely useful to me to be able to go through that program, even though it was extracurricular.
And I see the same great things available here with Project Youth Plus.
Now I’ve never worked directly with them. Everything that I’ve learned from about them is the same things that you learn today, so I’d love to hear some more about it and I can’t wait to see what they’re doing in the future.
Outro: Join us again on the next Grants Pass VIP brought to you by the team BrianJPombo.com. Helping movers and shakers in Southern Oregon and beyond stand out. That’s B R I A N J P O M B O dot com.
If you or someone you know would like to be a guest or sponsor on Grants Pass VIP, go to GrantsPassVIP.com/Contact.
Guests who appear on the show not necessarily endorse the opinions of the hosts or sponsors. The music is FunShine, Kevin MacLeod. Our host is a Grants Pass resident and business strategist Brian Pombo. I’m Executive Producer Sean E. Douglas. Until next time, live Rogue and have fun.