Eduardo Barahona spent most of the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic as a warehouse clerk – a job that paid well but found no advancement. So when he heard of a College of Southern Nevada scholarship to take classes in heating, ventilation and air conditioning, he seized the opportunity for a new career and new goals.
“I just signed up straight away because I wanted a better future,” said Barahona. “You helped me a lot because it made me learn. I always want to learn more and I am currently aiming to do my associate degree in this industry. “
Since joining CSN in February, Barahona has learned how to place new units on rooftops, solder welds, and best serve customers. Recruiters and industry professionals come to his courses, and he’s watched classmates get hired once their education is complete.
Barahona’s education is funded in part by a Bank of America scholarship. It is one of 20 grants from the bank’s charity foundation awarded to nonprofits in Las Vegas in July.
A total of $ 545,000 in grants were awarded to nonprofits that focus on improving economic mobility through access to basic needs and access to education and human resource development.
Al Welch, president of Bank of America Las Vegas, said that with such a large overarching goal, the activities target different needs based on what stakeholders are saying. These discussions help narrow down who can receive a grant in a given year.
“We always pull it through the lens: ‘How can we enable economic upward mobility for everyone who lives here?'” Welch said. “The answer to this can change from year to year in terms of community priorities. So we try to think about it internally and collect feedback from outside leaders in the community to try and make the best use of the resources we have. “
Other scholarship recipients include the Three Square Food Bank, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, HELP of Southern Nevada, Just One Project, Southern Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Training Fund A Trust, and more.
The college of Southern Nevada grant is an example of economic mobility work, Welch said. The institution will use the grant to fund the first six college credits that students bring to their Ability to Benefit Career Pathways program. The program sets up GED students with their first courses on associate degrees and certificates.
Executives say it opens entry-level careers to underserved and economically disadvantaged people in southern Nevada.
“We take someone from an underserved community who has lost their education,” Welch said. “We re-engaged them and showed them a way to do something they might not have thought possible, while at the same time gaining specific skills and getting them into work and actually getting a job and looking after their families.”
For Barahona, the program gave him a new goal: to be a master in HVAC and refrigeration and one day start his own business.
“The program will help me tremendously,” said Barahona. “They gave me a new job, something new that I learned and that I will just move on in my life.”
McKenna Ross is a corps member of Report for America, a national utility that places journalists in local newsrooms. Contact them at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.
