New Opportunities for Black Students at PSU Job Fair
In the Pan-African Commons in the MENASA Student Center on-campus at PSU, a room full of Black students laugh as Mr. Joe McFerrin II, President and CEO of POIC + RAHS, says he can plug them into jobs that start low at $24 an hour. A shocked chuckle erupts from students who say $24 an hour is not low for them. A PSU alum himself, Mr. McFerrin laughs alongside them. While making a livable wage in college seems laughable, it reveals a real need students have: having jobs that make real wages.
PSU Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion, Ame Lambert (left), and Joe McFerrin II, President + CEO of POIC + RAHS (right).
What McFerrin presents to the room at a Job Fair hosted in collaboration with PSU are over 30 part-time positions at POIC + RAHS. As part of a new initiative led by Mr. McFerrin and Portland State University’s Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion, Ame Lambert, this partnership aims to benefit Black students in multiple ways. The first is to provide livable wage job opportunities. The second is to support these new professionals in their development as they navigate unwritten workplace rules—especially as people of color.
This bridge between POIC and PSU is also timely. POIC has many open positions to fill, and by hiring local Black students, the organization is living its mission—to assist youth through the age of 25 with mentoring, employment training, and workforce placement. The end goal is not for these youth to continue working at POIC after graduation but to help grow them into thriving professionals and discover their passions. The hope is for these Black students to learn the skills required to excel in workforce environments, give them real jobs with a real wage—alongside a tuition award—and further advance racial equity and justice in Portland.
“It’s not just about POIC, at the end of the day I’m going to do what I’ve been doing for the past 27 1/2 years, and it’s helping people, because that’s what we do. In Portland, my home. This is my home, this is my college.”
When asked by a student, “Why Portland?” McFerrin responds, “It’s not just about POIC, that’s my top priority, but at the end of the day, I’m going to do what I’ve been doing for the past 27 1/2 years, and it’s helping people because that’s what we do. In Portland, my home. This is my home, this is my college.” Several students who attended the Job Fair are actively applying to POIC + RAHS, fueling the mission for Black youth to thrive.
More on this partnership in the news: OPB | The Skanner News.