Innovative Collaborations to Improve Youth Outcomes: A Federal, State, and Local Dialogue

Transcript

My name is Marlon Norman, I'm a graduate from ARCH training center, and that's where I received my GED and my NCCER, which is National Center for Construction, Education, and Research. And I left out of school at the beginning of the 11th grade year, and it was about two years before I decided to study at ARCH. I worked for a temporary agency in the meantime; I was a leasing consultant.

I liked it a lot, but since it was a temporary job and I didn't have my GED, they couldn't hire me. They wanted to, but I couldn't get the job because I didn't have my GED. So I enrolled at ARCH, first I earned my GED, which took about 10 months. Next I enrolled into the skills class to learn competency trade, which is the NCCER.

I've been enrolled in an afterschool photography class offered at the ARCH training center for well over a year now.

I was really excited to assist the instructor with installing shows, helping with students, assisting in the dark room, and learning as much as I could about photography. The difference with this photo class is that it let me be more creative, it's more entertaining, and I find it a lot easier to stay involved since it is such a hands on experience.

I've put in many hours at the Honfleur Floor Gallery, which is a project of ARCH Development Corporation. I have been in three student shows and I will be curating and showing in the next student show for DC photo week in November. This show is entitled Eco-Action Reaction; it's an environmentally based show in which I was able to work with and instruct with the help of my photography instructor, new and aspiring photography students in the art of visual storytelling with a camera. All of these accomplishments have led to an internship position with ARCH Development Corporation, which then led to a full-time position as an assistant lab technician of Vivid Solutions, DC.

I had made some major personal accomplishments in the last two years. Two of the student shows made it to local newspapers here in Washington, DC. Those two student shows were probably the best experiences I have ever encountered. I have even had my work displayed in a group show in Paris, and the annual Easterly River exhibit at the Harm Floor Gallery. I have been able to sell some of my framed photographs through these exhibitions. I have also been able to meet some inspiring world class photographers throughout this time. I met photographers from France, California, New York, and they all came to our student shows and commented and some even bought some of our work, so that was really, really nice. They also took me under their wing and one of the artists offered to give me her camera after meeting me at an exhibition and hearing my story. This was my first professional digital camera, which I had been saving money to buy, and it would allow me to develop my skill in photography. The fact that your work is displayed, people actually come to view, comment and acknowledge your work is truly an experience I won't forget.