“Working at CUESA makes me feel responsible... It makes me feel good to know that I can support my daughter and myself... New Door saved me.” ~ Andrea

Sitting outside the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market, Andrea (18) is the picture of charm and confidence. A graduate of New Door’s Ally program, she can barely believe how far she has come since beginning her internship.

“Before I found New Door, I didn’t have a job. I was really looking for one, but I didn’t have any experience. I would go from store to store and fill out a whole bunch of applications and never get any callbacks. I would sit in the house all day and take care of my 1 ½ year old daughter. I didn’t have an agenda. I didn’t have anything to do.”

Andrea was referred to New Door by a friend who was in the Ally program. Soon after, she began her Ally internship with the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), which runs the farmers’ market at the Ferry Building.

“When I was interning with CUESA, I would work at a Waste Wise station and tell people where to dispose of their compost, recycling, or trash. I got good customer service experience and learned a lot of new things about job skills and interacting with people. Before my internship, I was pretty shy and stand-offish, but now I can go up to anyone and ask them a question or answer their questions.”

Andrea’s supervisors were so impressed with her hard work and dedication that once her internship was over, they hired her on as a professional staff member.

“Once I got hired, it was a whole new set of responsibilities that I had to earn. I’m now in charge of volunteers and interns. I’ve had two sets of interns from New Door’s Ally program, which is pretty cool.”

Andrea’s struggle to find employment and make positive strides in her life has not been easy but she can now look back and be proud of what she has accomplished.

“Working at CUESA makes me feel responsible. Now I’m getting paid every two weeks, and that’s something I was never used to before. It makes me feel good to know that I can support my daughter and myself, and have enough money to buy her diapers and the other stuff she needs.

“If it wasn’t for New Door, I wouldn’t have a job. I had my rocky points, and it could be hard, but my case manager, Carin, helped me along the way. New Door saved me.”

Now that she has graduated from the Ally program and has found a good job, Andrea still keeps in contact with New Door and plans to go back to school to finish her GED.