The Naples, Fla. club participated in a four-week program that selected 10 migrant students from a local education center. Each week students would get hands-on training throughout the club property, including in the pro shop, restaurant and administration office, and on the golf course. A few of the students are now being considered for full-time positions at the club.
Cypress Woods Golf & Country Club in Naples, Fla. is wrapping up the final week of a new starter program that is giving migrant students in Collier County a head start on their future, Fox 4 reported. What began as an idea to help young students gain real work-life experience, has many of their students already carving out a future career path.
The four-week program selected 10 migrant students from the Gargiulo Education Center in Naples, where each week they would get hands-on training all over the club property, Fox 4 reported. Students are between the ages of 12 and 17 and got to take a swing at the pro shop, restaurant, golf course, and administration office.
Staff at Cypress Woods, like Head Golf Professional Chris Phillips, told Fox 4 it didn’t take long for their students to start making an impact.
“Going through the Gargiulo program that they are in, they are dedicated … they have all shown that they want to learn and they are interested in possibly getting out of any situation and trying something new and they are all eager to see what something else has to offer,” he said.
Phillips said it’s not just career skills they are fine-tuning, Fox 4 reported. Students were also expected to arrive at work on time, dressed in their uniforms, and no cell phones during their shift.
Ashley Pimentel, one of the students involved in the starter program said her interest was sparked by the desire to try something new, but now it has become a stepping stone for her future, Fox 4 reported.
“I am looking ahead. I want to be an accountant, probably, when I go to college,” she said. “When I was working with Ryan today, we worked on budgeting, so we were going over someone’s budget and their transactions and putting them on paper.”
Cypress Woods told Fox 4 they are even gearing up to possibly bring a few of the older students on full-time.
The Gargiulo Education Center said their goal with programs like this is to help to develop educated and confident students within the Naples migrant community, Fox 4 reported.
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