In the fall of 2018, Raven hosted its first group of students participating in a new program called Raven Inspiring Students to Excel, or RISE. The RISE program was developed to create engaged students that may face barriers and prepare a future workforce through a strong partnership of school and work. As part of this program, students spend two days a week at Raven working in the production environment. The other days are spent in their high school classes. Since the program’s inception, we have had thirteen high-school students intern as part of this program.
At the completion of the RISE program, we hope to leave these students with positive job experiences, refinement, and direction on important soft skills that contribute to making a strong team member. However, for some, this opportunity may extend beyond an internship experience and turn into a full-time job offer. This June, we offered our first student a long-term employment opportunity with Raven!
Ayol Jok participated in one of the first semesters of our RISE program. Working with the production team, he has completed three full semesters with Raven while also working through the summertime. Originally from South Sudan, Ayol relocated to the Unites States in August of 2018. He finished high school through the President’s Academy, which is a program for English as a second language (ESL) students at Joe Foss High School in Sioux Falls. He graduated with his high school diploma this past May.
When asked why he wanted to stay at Raven, Ayol said, “The people — they are kind, humble, and helpful.”
To the team members working alongside him, Ayol was not a RISE student. Instead, he was one of them — part of the Raven family. Ayol said he is “so proud” to have received an official offer from Raven. To him, it was important to remain committed to what he started and to display his reliability to the Raven team.
Ayol exemplifies the Raven values and will be such a great asset to the Raven team.
— Kiley Vander Maten, HR Generalist
There are many team members that play an integral part in the success of the RISE program, including the students’ trainers, mentors, production leads, and teammates. However, one person that has played a significant role is Kristi Dahl, Production Supervisor. As Kristi reflected on the program thus far she said, “The program itself is a great tool for any student in any situation. It can help teach ownership, responsibility, self-worth, and the ability to learn to adapt and process through different situations and challenges.”
As Kristi said, “We never know how many students will start and stay with the program. If we can help place any of these students into full-time positions in our company, or maybe have given them other skills to adventure out to something bigger — whatever it may be, we are helping our young people and our up-and-coming future.”
We look forward to soon welcoming our fall 2020 RISE students and growing the program for years to come!