The latest Hands on Hope Elpis hosted had our best turnout for the event all year. We were happy to see nearly 20 different community and business partners spend time with our interns to talk about their journeys into the workforce and how they ended up with the jobs they have now.
One of the many new attendees to Hands on Hope was Jon Horan, of Imprint Engine. Imprint Engine is a screen printing company based in Brooklyn Center. They’ve made apparel for companies such as Uber, DoorDash, and Walmart, among many others, and have a strong presence throughout the country.
Horan has worked there for several years and has seen the ebb and flows of what has happened to the apparel industry over the last five years. One challenge has been finding younger people who have previous experience in screen printing.
Having our own screen printing shop at Elpis was a big draw for Horan to attend Hands on Hope for the first time and meet with our interns who have been working in the screen printing shop to know what they’ve accomplished in their time here.
“Honestly, it’s super difficult to find young people, or people in general, that have experience in screen printing that also want to progress into as a career,” said Horan. “I think if there’s a way of helping young people figure that out, you can actually make a career out of it. It doesn’t just have to be a hobby, or arts and crafts type of thing. I think that’s excellent information for them.”
A few of Elpis’ interns spoke with Horan about those opportunities that Imprint Engine can provide them as a future workplace once they’re done at Elpis. While screen printing may not be the career path for every intern who has worked in our shop, there is still plenty of good career advice from our partners who attend Hands on Hope.
No matter where your career path has taken you, our interns can always benefit from hearing what makes you successful in any career field. Many skills and good work habits and transferable to any workplace, and that is what we’re always hoping to have our Hands on Hope attendees share with current and former Elpis interns.
“Honestly, just show up on time, every time. That’ll get you ahead of 90% of your job competition, and a willingness to learn, ambition, a positive attitude, and you don’t need the most experience. You don’t have to be the smartest, the fastest. You’ve just got to be willing to put in the most effort, to be honest. That’ll get you ahead of everybody,” said Horan.
The next Hands on Hope will take place on Tuesday, November 18, from 3-5 p.m. We hope to see you there.
