The Career Readiness Academy (CRA) held a session at Evans Distribution Systems on April 16th, 2018. Hosted by the Detroit Economic Club, the CRA is a 7-month program during which DEC Young Leaders are paired with high schoolers to help students prepare for the working world. Throughout those 7 months, students receive mentoring in sessions to help them to move throughout the high school journey and toward a future career.
Throughout the weeks of the Career Readiness Academy, students learn about personal brand, manufacturing and skilled trades, career exploration and economics, networking and interview skills, and complete a visit to a Young Leader’s place of business.
Visiting With Different Levels of Management
For the manufacturing and skilled trades portion of CRA, Sean Mueller, member of the CRA Planning Committee, brought Melvindale High School students to Evans Distribution Systems for a tour and visit with staff. Students met with varying departments and levels of management: Leslie Ajlouny (Vice President of Business Development), Derek Byrd (Marketing Manager), Mike Franklin (Director of IT), Pat LaFave (Vice President of Finance), among others. Afterwards, students were given a tour of the Melvindale facility, where they learned about Evans customers, such as Floyd, Ryder, and Diageo.
Students were particularly interested in the Technology portion of the tour, and Value Added—especially seeing all the Girl Scout Cookies piled high. The tour of Evans was an excellent opportunity for students to see how a company works behind the scenes, and to learn about what employment opportunities are available.
For more information about the student program, click here.
