Our Story
Chapter 1
The Career Labs USA Origin Story
It started with a consulting gig in 2016. Jay Neuman and Pernell Marsh were helping an inner-city charter school in Southeast Los Angeles, Alta Public Schools. They were helping with all aspects of business transformation, technology and social media. Both also have spent many years as volunteers in youth mentoring and life coaching. The students captured their hearts. They wanted to do more for them.
As they made friends with staff, parents and students, Pernell and Jay heard similar life stories. One especially hit home. Students from communities with unmet needs who make it to university often drop out after a year or two. Not because of academics. Because they don’t fit in. They did not have exposure, connections, or mentors outside of their communities before college. So they do not continue.Â
It was a lightbulb moment. Jay and Pernell realized the goal of college admission is not enough. Students also need help creating a successful career pathway and network.
Jay and Pernell both have networks and friends in the professional world. Many of them would love to help these students succeed in life. They decided to reach out to their professional networks and friends for help.Â
The result was Career Labs. Pernell and Jay put on a career workshop series for two years at the school, pro-bono. Students and speakers alike were inspired. Some students from the Labs sought out mentorship. Some became leaders at the school. These are some of the success stories from what Jay and Pernell started. They wanted to do even more
Chapter 2
A Nonprofit is Born
In the 2018-19 school year, both Jay and Pernell were too busy to put together a Career Labs program. Their career responsibilities became too great to leave time for helping the students. Something had to change.
During the Spring Semester of 2019, Jay took a break from his Business Intelligence and Data Science career to devote his time to making Career Labs a reality. Mischalay Williams and Lora Babalola joined the team.
It started with a Design Sprint, an idea invented at Google by Jake Knapp. The team spent four intensive days during the Summer of 2019 in a classroom at Prepa Tec Los Angeles, the school where the Career Labs after-school workshops had been held. They emerged with a strategy and a plan for launching the Career Labs program as a nonprofit organization. The goal was no less than helping students and schools all over the country. The new organization would be called “Career Labs USA.”
Career Labs USA launched its first program as a nonprofit organization in the Fall Semester of 2019. It was an expanded version of the after-school Career Experts series at Prepa Tec. In the Spring of 2020, a second semester of Career Experts continued. Plus, a new, in-class program was added for all of the 5th Grade STEAM classes at Academia Moderna Elementary School. The STEAM Heroes series was born. It was an immersive experience into careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Alexis Siguenza and Jessenia Magana joined the team to help provide career workshops for over 140 students in two schools.
Then, a third of the way into the Spring Semester, the unthinkable happened.
Chapter 3
Distance Learning in the Age of COVID-19
On March 19, 2020, California went into quarantine. All schools in the state closed. It was (and as of the writing of this page, still is) one of the largest world-wide catastrophes in human history. Â
At first, it seemed as though all of their big plans were at an end. How could they run mentoring workshops and courses in school when all the schools are closed? But they quickly realized that students need Career Labs now more than ever.Â
Jay, Pernell, and Mischalay all have many years (decades) of experience in the Digital Tech and Video Production industries. They were ready to transform Career Labs into Distance Learning programs for the age of COVID-19. First, they needed a producer. Ed Bernard came to the rescue. He donated his time to film and produce the new online lessons.
As the time of COVID-19 began, the Career Labs USA team saw one need rising above the other critical needs. While schools and workplaces are closed, High School students are missing out on important career experiences at a critical time in their lives. To meet this need, they upgraded the STEAM Heroes course for High Schools students, while still keeping it accessible for younger grades. It was crazy times. Ed coached Jay in filming the lessons using his phone camera. Ed did his producer magic over a Zoom call while Jay filmed himself and ran the slide deck from his home office couch.Â
