Seaford High School held an Alumni Career Day on Oct. 15, organized by the high school’s Jobs for Delaware Graduates (JDG) program. Around 25 alums attended the event with graduates ranging from as recently as 2018 and as far back as 1968, with careers of all types. Current JDG members at Seaford High School acted as tour guides for the alumni, helping them get to classrooms for various presentations the alumni put on for students. The event was organized by Seaford alum and JDG regional supervisor Desi Moore, who provided insight not only into the program but the inspiration behind the event.
Moore is a Seaford native, graduating from Seaford High School in 1983. Both of her parents were teachers in the district for around 50 years together, which led to Moore getting into education after graduating from Towson State University, beginning teaching in 2007 with the JDG program. Currently, Moore serves as a regional supervisor for the JDG program, overseeing 14 teachers, and having the JDG spread to 23 high schools and 15 middle schools. Moore initially started out as a full-time substitute before a JDG teacher position opened up, though this wasn’t her first time with a school-to-work transition program; she also worked on a similar program in Baltimore City, which had a sort of alumni career day event that inspired her own. “Once I got JDG as a teacher… we just soared,” Moore explained, “JDG has a whole curriculum that prepares students for life after high school, when our students leave our program they are a well-rounded student, they’re ready for the work force and for college.”
Shown (l to r) are the three JDG alums that participated in last week’s event in Seaford: Nicole Stanley, class of 2001, Clerk III for the Sussex County Government; Cody Baker, class of 2010, account manager for AC Plant and Turf; and Fredeswinda Mendoza, class of 2009, complex staffing recruiter for Perdue. Photo by Kristin Brent
The curriculum used is fairly new and is taught in all the schools that have a JDG program throughout the state. In the high school program, students are prepared for career preparation and leadership development, focusing on small groups where students are taught with project-based learning, learning skills in goal-planning, financial literacy, preparation for trade or college, workplace etiquette, entrepreneurship, and other soft skills that Moore says students are lacking since COVID.
For the middle school level programs, the programs are focused more on character and leadership and preparing for the transition from middle to high school, while laying out the groundwork for future lessons, with lots of focus on goal planning, organizational skills, and decision-making skills. In addition, every student in the JDG program is a member of the Delaware Career Association at their school. Next month, there is a student leadership academy being held in Dover that will have leaders from each school participating in workshops and lessons to improve leadership capabilities. Additionally, there will be a state officer team elected at this academy, which will go on to compete nationally and represent Delaware.
At the career day event, three JDG alums were in attendance: Nicole Stanley, class of 2001, who works as a Clerk III for the Sussex County Government; Cody Baker, class of 2010, an account manager for AC Plant and Turf; and Fredeswinda Mendoza, class of 2009, a complex staffing recruiter for Perdue. In addition to these three, Moore stated that several current JDG teachers throughout the schools that have this program are former JDG students. The career day isn’t the only JDG alumni event planned; next month there will be the 45-year anniversary for the JDG.
“(I feel) incredibly proud,” Moore said in response to seeing some of her own students at the event, “It’s crazy when you’re in education when you see your students as adults and now they’re parents, they’re married, they’re involved in the community. And those are the things that we taught, and I’ll have students come back and say ‘Miss Moore I remember you told me such and such and I still do it today’… So, you know the bond between JDG, and the students, never ends. We taught them information that they can learn for the rest of their lives.”
The JDG program also has a long history, having started in 1978 due to efforts from then governor Pete DuPont, who held major concerns over students graduating from high school being unable to acquire jobs. As such, he created a task force which turned into JDG. One of the members of DuPont’s cabinet was a man named Ken Smith, who took the model for JDG and helped create Jobs for American Graduates.
In addition to other activities mentioned, the Seaford JDG students participated in the CORE Internship Program with TidalHealth Nanticoke last school year. JDG students are already helping Moore when it comes to making plans for another event next year, due to the success of this career day, which is in addition to feedback received from alumni that attended the event. Moore was very proud and happy with the results of a year of planning between herself and school principal Dr. Susan Harrison.
For more information on JDG, check out the website at jobsdegrads.org. Alumni interested in helping with next year’s event should reach out to Moore at Seaford High School.
