Hope Happens Here

Cecelia is a 2015 graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School and was a Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio Residential Scholar from 8th through 12th grade. After leaving college, Cecelia struggled to identify the right next steps to get back on her feet and how to determine a career path beyond her initial plan to go to college. Boys Hope Girls Hope of NEO maintained close contact with Cecelia throughout this time, and worked with her to develop a new career success plan. With the support of their College and Career Success Director, Cecelia enrolled in a State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) program offered through the Advanced Technology Academy at Cuyahoga Community College in 2020 while living back on the Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio campus as part of the first cohort of our post-secondary residential housing program. During this time, Cecelia worked with her BHGH Coach to set and achieve her personal and career goals. She was proud to pass her board certification test and launch her new career as a Nursing Assistant in the winter of 2021. In the years ahead, Cecelia plans to continue on her educational pathway that leads to her ultimate goal of earning a degree in nursing!

“What Boys Hope Girls Hope did for me was to offer me opportunities,” he says. “Boys Hope Girls Hope offers extraordinary young people, in extraordinary life circumstances, extraordinary opportunities.”

Jay joined Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio at the age of twelve. Enrolled at Saint Ignatius High, he became the school’s first African-American member of the debate team and went to the state championships as a first-year debater. During his second year, he was one of the top 20 debaters in the state of Ohio.

Jay graduated with honors from Saint Ignatius, winning the school’s prestigious Bellringer Award and going on to Villanova University, where he earned recognition as one of the 12 most promising minority male college students in America. During his collegiate career he also worked for both the National Hispanic Institute and the World Bank; won fellowships to study at Georgetown, Cambridge, and Harvard; and co-founded The Paragon, an on-campus organization at Villanova dedicated to developing and teaching leadership in the African-American community.

“I am so indebted to Boys Hope Girls Hope,” Jay says. “I am most thankful to be blessed with an education, and life experience, which empowers me to be committed to something larger than myself.”

After graduating from Villanova, Jay worked at Goldman Sachs for two years before launching a start-up to help small businesses raise capital from investors within their communities. He then joined the U.S. Treasury Department, where he served as the Senior Advisor for Domestic Finance. In 2015, he was recognized for his work by Forbes Magazine and named 30 Under 30: Law and Policy.

Later, in 2016, Jay was awarded a Rising Star by FCW Magazine as the Director of Agency Partnerships for 18F, an office within the General Services Administration that collaborates with other agencies to fix technical problems, build products, and improve how government serves the public through technology. Currently, Jay is a Technology Transformation Service Strategic Advisor for the General Services Administration, an independent agency of the United States government established to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. He is also taking Master degree classes at Harvard Kennedy School through the mid-career Master in Public Administration program.

In addition, as a former Scholar, Jay remains very involved with the organization as a Board Member and role model. He has hosted Scholars in Washington, D.C. for internships, spoke at fundraising events, and offered much needed advice to leadership on organizational strategy. He has also served at other youth non-profits in DC and NYC, including local schools, Reading All-Stars, and the Jersey City Police Athletic League.

Mariah is a 2020 graduate of Garfield Heights High School where she had dual enrollment and earned a cosmetology certification at Cuyahoga Valley Career Center. During her senior year, Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio helped her develop and evaluate options between four and two-year degree programs. After deciding to enroll at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) where she is working to earn her Associate’s Degree in Business Management, she remains pleased with her decision and her career path that lies ahead.

Mariah showed incredible grit and commitment to her career path by balancing nearly a full-time work schedule at a fast food restaurant while also earning her Associates Degree in December 2022 from Tri-C. Mariah is currently attending Kent State University working towards her Bachelors of Business. Despite her busy schedule, she also has made time to share her cosmetology talents and knowledge with the girls in our Residential Program by providing education and consultation on caring for their hair. Mariah hopes to one day own and manage her own salon.