Her positive energy and professionalism are immediately infectious to those who meet and work with her. While still a part of the  at San Diego City College, Loreal Cooper began a paid internship with CONNECT2Careers (C2C), operated by the (SDWP), where she worked as a job coach to help her peers get jobs with local employers.

In addition to performing clerical duties such as data entry, customer service and follow-up interactions with young adult job seekers, Loreal also assisted in organizing workshops and job fairs, where she worked with young people face-to-face on registering on the C2C portal, résumé writing and interview skills.

Colleagues comment on Loreal’s strong work ethic and communication skills. Laura Roderickz, a former intern and current intern with the SDWP research department, said, “Loreal believes in her work and is passionate about the populations served by C2C.”

Loreal’s own motto explains her commitment: “Empathy makes a huge difference; it makes me go extra miles in helping people,” she said.

After Loreal’s internship at C2C ended, that strong work ethic and passion have taken her to an entry-level, part-time position with the YMCA of San Diego County, where she builds and maintains face-to-face member and donor relationships. There she was quickly promoted to program assistant and peer mentor to participants ages 18–24. More recently, she was offered a part-time, paid student internship with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency’s Office of Business Intelligence, where she will manage projects and perform research.

“I learned a lot about Filemaker, Excel and Sharepoint while interning with C2C,” said Loreal, who believes these technical skills have made her a competitive candidate for the positions she now holds.

“C2C helped me gain a lot of confidence,” Loreal shared.

Currently pursuing a bachelor’s in psychology at San Diego City College, Loreal plans to transfer to a CSU or a HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) in 2017 to pursue a master’s — and possibly a Ph.D. — in philosophy, communications or Spanish. In addition to furthering her studies and exploring career options, Loreal hopes to someday travel and join the Peace Corps.

Loreal’s goals also include tapping more into her creative side, engaging in painting and poetry, as well as staying in the nonprofit sector and continuing to help people.

It is clear Loreal’s passion bleeds into all aspects of her life.

“I plan to continue growing as a person and learning as much as I can,” said Loreal.