Meet Roshawn Snead; born and raised in the city of Detroit with 1 brother and 2 sisters, Roshawn enrolled in SER YouthBuild Learning Academy in early 2019 as a sophomore. After a year or so of working on his classes, Roshawn took full advantage of the construction vocation certifications available to him, and added OSHA10, CPR, First Aid, and the Multi-Core Craft Curriculum to his resume. When asked why he chose SER Metro’s High School Diploma completion program, Roshawn said “I heard it was a better opportunity than most schools, more ‘flexible.’ One of my friends referred me because he liked it and told me about the one-on-one support.”
While working on finishing his education, Roshawn’s main focus became his new responsibilities as a young father. “It was a balance,” Roshawn noted, “becoming a new father & balancing my new job with finishing my diploma, it definitely wasn’t easy to always stay motivated.”
“If it wasn’t for the relentless, daily reminders from my teacher, I don’t know how long this would have taken,” said Roshawn. “He truly made me want to keep moving everyday and keep doing my work. The constant motivation is the main thing I’m most grateful for.”
Roshawn went on to describe how his mother also gave him a reason to continue toward his goals:
“[My main influence is] my mother. This all has been for her and for the support she has given me. She has had some health problems and this just encourages me to focus harder to support her. Also, thank you to my instructor. He truly believed in me and made sure I didn’t fall behind.”
When asked about the most valuable lesson he learned while enrolled in SER Metro-Detroit’s programs, he said he learned it’s possible to “…never give up on your goals. Especially with the pandemic, I learned that there is always a way to get things done.”
As Roshawn was working on completing his last few classes, he landed new employment in February at EnovaPremier, making more than $16/hour working on production assembly for major customers like GM, Hyundai, and Toyota.
What’s next for Roshawn?
“Well, for the short term I’m going to keep grinding in my current position, saving and planning for my future business where I plan on doing home repair & improvement. I’m currently deciding between a trade school or some business/entrepreneurship classes. Long term, I want to move out of Detroit, focus on independence for me and my family, and start my own business in real estate and home remodeling. This program has shown me it is possible to make a plan to support my family and even buy my own house.
For final thoughts, Roshawn described how the program is great as long as you show up – and come in ready. “There are services you don’t even know about. And the staff is here for you if you ask,” Roshawn added, “I just want to thank you all for everything. The support, the help, and even in the near future I know I’ll be back.”
