Elated friends and family gathered at the Los Angeles LGBT Center to cheer on dozens of LGBTQ+ youth and senior clients as they marked their completion of education and vocational training programs to ready them to enter the workforce with valuable skills.
“This graduation is a celebration,” said Kevin McCloskey, Director of Community-Based Programs. “We’re celebrating an amazing group of people who have overcome the odds to do something that at some point might have felt out of reach, in spite of numerous challenges. Today’s graduates have shown up, spoke out, committed, and completed. They try to do things. They’ve asked for help, they’ve dug deep from within, and they’ve accomplished their goal. We’re thrilled to have this time and this space to honor and celebrate them and all they have accomplished and all they’re about to do.”
The Center provides a wide range of educational opportunities through the Ariadne Getty Foundation Youth Academy, allowing students to pursue a GED, work on a high school diploma at our on-site Charter High School, or even enrolling in, and completing college.
It was a really supportive, really interactive learning environment. I definitely learned a lot more about myself in terms of what I can do and how I can push my limits.
DeLanté McLean-Sanchez, Culinary Arts Program graduate
“I am incredibly thankful to the Los Angeles LGBT Center for opening doors to allow me to continue to achieve my goals,” said Luis Camaro, a graduate of the GED program who is currently in the process of enrolling in college to continue their degree in engineering.
The education program delivers the support necessary to achieve educational goals, including ESL support, one-on-one tutoring, personalized lesson plans, GED exam preparation & testing, assistance with college applications, and planning and customized staff support.
In addition to graduates of the education program, the ceremony also recognized graduates from the Center’s intergenerational Social Services and Culinary Arts vocational training programs.
“In the years since our kitchen opened in 2019, we’ve enrolled over 230 students in our Culinary Arts program and produced more than 665,000 meals for LGBTQ+ youth and seniors who rely on us,” said Nick Panepinto, Director of Culinary Training and Operations. “It is exciting to see the growing impact of our intergenerational programming. The Culinary Arts program continues to reveal the power of food to not only build community at the Center, but to help foster pride, instill confidence, and empower our participants.”
Today’s graduates have shown up, spoke out, committed, and completed. They try to do things. They’ve asked for help, they’ve dug deep from within, and they’ve accomplished their goal.
Kevin McCloskey, Director of Community-Based Programs
During the ceremony, Panepinto and the Culinary Arts team celebrated a number of students who will stay on after the program as a member of the team. Others, like DeLanté McLean-Sanchez will move on with the skills and knowledge they need to pursue a career in food and hospitality—or any other industry. In addition to their certificates, graduates of the Center’s Culinary Arts program were equipped with a new knife set, provided by Fox Entertainment.
“I definitely learned a lot—a lot more than what I expected,” said McLean-Sanchez. “It was a really supportive, really interactive learning environment. I definitely learned a lot more about myself in terms of what I can do and how I can push my limits. The program definitely pushed me, but it was a good push that I needed.”
