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Lots of people were there. Dead end jobs. Little long-term prospects. Dream about doing good or rising up – all frozen.
Then there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In this case, an Austin nonprofit called Capital Idea, an advocate of “education first” when it comes to jobs.
About twenty years ago, the career dreams of Teresa Garza, Lori Lucas and Shirlet Oriakhi had stalled. The three knew that the next critical step in their life would have to be college and university education. However, they needed guidance and support as well as a job placement.
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Capital Idea, an Austin nonprofit founded by interfaith and business leaders in 1998, has provided all of these services to more than 1,900 students over the years, most of whom have tripled their annual income. Thousands of other students have received some level of help or advice from Capital Idea, which operates on a $ 6.3 million budget funded by public funds, private foundation grants, corporate donations, and individual support.
Now Garza, Lucas and Oriakhi are the ones to take the lead.
As professors, the trio who trained in health care at Austin Community College now teach others in various departments of the ACC. With Capital Idea behind them, they have also built lasting, interlocking networks of support for themselves and others.
Professor Shirlet Oriankhi: “Don’t give up, don’t stop”
Shirlet Oriakhi’s first job was flipping burgers at a short stop.
“I don’t remember all the other places I’ve worked,” says Oriakhi, 50. “What didn’t I do? The last job was with the Department of Public Safety in Special Crimes. I checked suspects’ photographs and police reports. It was a nightmare job. I felt helpless. I thought, ‘You have to get out of here.’ “
She was born in Austin and attended LBJ High School. She credits a strong personal life with overcoming most of her early challenges.
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“My stepfather was a bus mechanic at Cap Metro,” says Oriakhi. “He coached Special Olympics. My mother worked for the Austin School District. When I first started studying at ACC, my pastor made it clear one class at a time.”
She took lessons wherever ACC had an opening.
In 1999, she discovered a flyer on the wall of the ACC Riverside Campus that offered a nursing program. It indicated that Capitol Idea would help.
“They offered me all kinds of tangible and intangible things,” Oriakhi says. “Most importantly, they have immense trust in you. Their expectations are high. They try to lower your goals and they say, ‘No, you have to get back to where we are, we’re not going” to go down , where are you.'”
Your first goal: to become a nurse. Nursing and teaching had always been on her mind.
“I asked my mother when I was 5 years old – teacher or nurse? – Who makes the most money? ”She says with a laugh. “I didn’t know you could both be.”
Despite some doubts, she kept returning to these passions.
“If something like this happens normally, you have to relight it and start the fire again,” she says. “Don’t give up, don’t stop.
She says Capital Idea is part of a “huge comprehensive support system”.
“They do a lot for you, but not everything,” she says. “They say, ‘You can, you will, and so you will do it step by step.’ The deepest thing is that they don’t forget people. “
Oriakhi realizes that she beat the odds.
“I was a teenage mom,” she says. “I shouldn’t be going to college. I have a masters degree now. Part of it was because of people outside of my family who have nothing to gain but really, authentically believe you can do it.”
Professor Teresa Garza: “We can solve any problem”
Born and raised in San Marcos, Teresa Garza dropped out of what was then Southwest Texas State University at the age of 18.
“I was working towards a degree in biology,” says Garza, 46. “But I was a typical 18-year-old and everything was more important than school. I wasn’t in the right place and did the right thing so I wasn’t really enjoying it. I didn’t want to leave anymore. “
So Garza, now professor of radiology at the ACC Round Rock Campus and alumni representative on Capital Idea’s board of directors, accepted a position at the local outlet center.
“I was a saleswoman for years and made very little money,” she recalls. “I never got married and had no children. But I started the radiology program in 1999. I worked on preliminary courses but had no money for school.”
Back then, Garza was studying health sciences in the basement of the ACC Riverside Campus.
“Financial support is what draws you to Capital Idea,” she says. “They paid for textbooks, lessons, uniforms, smocks, shoes – simple basics – gas money. I lived in San Marcos and went to Riverside.”
She met with Capital Idea advisors and navigators in small groups that also offered social support from other participants.
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“There was always someone there to push you forward,” she says. “An advisor who would say, ‘We’re going to find out.’ Never an apology, “We can fix any problem.” All the things you didn’t expect. “
The time investment was great for Garza, who worked full-time during class and clinical training.
“I was a little hesitant,” she says. “I’m still one. How do I juggle everything? Especially with the intensity of the ACC programs and the extremely rigid curriculum. It wasn’t easy at all. I mean, I loved everything, but it cost everything I had , mentally and physically.”
Lately she thinks back to 1999 and the beginning of this journey.
“When I was working in the outlet center, I had the feeling that I could make more of my life,” says Garza. “I fold clothes, ring the doorbell at a cash register. But I was curious to go back to school and change my career. I was so sick of doing this. I had an inkling of it. “
Capital Idea lit the flame and propelled it forward.
“I was the girl on parole in southwest Texas,” she says. “But I got this associate degree, this bachelor’s degree – summa cum laude – and this master’s degree, now with 40 of my own students.”
Professor Lori Lucas: “We all need each other”
Lori Lucas, 55, who teaches nursing at the ACC Round Rock Campus, was born in Ohio but raised in central Texas. Her father was a cattle breeder and her mother a licensed professional nurse in Hico north of Lampasas.
She got a cosmetics license, got married and had children.
“We needed additional family income,” she says. “We had a daughter in high school and two boys in elementary school. My husband is a plumber. It’s hard to have just one income and I wanted to lead by example.”
Lucas started college in 2003 and met Capital Idea in 2005.
“Friends told me about it,” she says. “So it was word of mouth. I was studying at the ACC East View Campus and I needed practical things like classes, uniforms – which is a big deal; we have to look good – and new shoes, another big thing. “
Lucas was lucky enough to find a discerning mentor in Sister Anne Nguyen.
“‘She said,’ No! You have to do this or set this goal and meet me once a month, ‘” she says. “Getting help from a professional will help you become a better professional.”
Lucas says if she were a millionaire she would put money back in Capital Idea.
“I’m in a PhD program now,” she says. “My kids – now 26, 28 and 33 – want to see my grades. I work at the Christopher House at Hospice Austin in my spare time. You know I never really believed in myself I was shy and didn’t have the necessary severity. ” The rigor of the community college should not be underestimated. I needed help with that. “
When she thinks about it again, she feels that the mentoring was the most important part of the Capital Idea project.
“Sister Anne was very strict,” says Lucas, “but very good to me. We all need each other. We need people in our lives who can tell us where to go.”
Steve Jackobs: Student success is what makes what I do worthwhile
Steve Jackobs, Executive Director of Capital Idea, has been with the Austin nonprofit since its inception. A native of Wisconsin, he earned his bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Harvard University and his master’s degree in social and political thought from the University of Sussex in the UK
The area now referred to as human resource development was the business of his adult life.
“I know what it means: I come from a mom and dad family who wanted to go to college,” says Jackobs. “Mom went to a one-room schoolhouse. In eighth grade, she dreamed of becoming a teacher. But then her father got sick and both parents died, so she had to raise her siblings. Dad got a year at university.” from Minnesota, but then his family ran out of money. He became a pipe fitter, but he wanted to be an engineer. He didn’t get his chance. “
Jackobs’ parents knew what they wanted for their children.
“We all five went to college, by God,” he says. “We didn’t know we could stop. My brother and an older sister received PhDs from the University of Iowa and Purdue University. Two of my siblings did their Masters at the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus in Madison. ”
Jackobs can sell the idea of Capital Idea abstractly at fundraising events. But admirers don’t become true believers that way.
However, about three years ago, he and I started talking about the backstories of the Capital Idea graduates over coffee. Since then, the cost of living in the Austin area has skyrocketed and the only jobs that can keep families afloat often require more and more education and training.
Jackobs: “These stories make all the other things I do worthwhile.”
Michael Barnes writes about the people, places, culture and history of Austin and Texas. He can be reached at mbarnes@statesman.com.
CareerUp with a capital idea
A “CareerUp” is a free information session that lasts around 30 to 40 minutes. The Capital Idea aides learn about the support the group offers, the careers they are recruiting for, the group’s qualifications, and other information. Call 512-457-8610 or visit capitalidea.org to register for a CareerUp virtual session and learn more about next steps.
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