With the intention to inspire the future leaders of Michigan to achieve their fullest potential in education and employment, Youth Solutions has grown from roots in Benton Harbor to a statewide initiative. Through experiential learning, career exploration, coaching, and mentoring, the organization helps to level the playing field for the disadvantaged and raises the voice of a young Michigan. In this episode, I (Daedalian) had the opportunity to chat with Youth Solutions Executive Director, Mollie Waller about the invaluable service and dedication that she and her team are providing towards the future of our Great Lakes State and America.

Website: Youth Solutions

Shining Stars Intro: We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found within us. If we change ourselves, the tendencies in the world will also change. This paraphrased quote from Mahatma Gandhi is the basis of the program you are about to hear. I'm Daedalian, and this is Shining Stars, a program dedicated to searching out and bringing attention to individuals and organizations that are fostering positive change within our community and within our world.

Today's guest says she has a lifelong passion for storytelling and service to others.

From her first job driving the famous Oscar Mayer Wienermobile to her current role as the Executive Director of a Michigan based nonprofit, she has successfully integrated her passions into her career.

Her resume includes nonprofit fund development, communication, event management and corporate marketing functions, and her success in all of these areas have brought her to her current role. She serves at Youth Solutions, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for disadvantaged youth.

Joining me today via video conference is Youth Solutions Executive Director Mollie Waller. Welcome to the show, Mollie.

Thank you so much. It's great to be here.

Good to see you, even if it is virtually. Yes, it is good to be able to see you and at least talk to you about Youth Solutions.

I just recently became aware of Youth Solutions, so let's get started by having you expand on the mission of what Youth Solutions does.

Wonderful. I love talking about our mission. Our organization is really dedicated to inspiring and connecting youth to a future beyond their imagination.

Our mission is to help young people understand careers that are available, understand the education needed to get to those careers, and teach them the life skills so that they can see so that they can succeed in their education, in their employment and in their lives.

We do have a strong presence in the Lansing area and knowing that your podcast is coming from Lansing Community College, we do have programs right there in the area and we work very closely with the Capital Area Michigan Works Agency. Together we serve hundreds of young people in the area and again we serve around 4,500 statewide.

It's a very inspiring endeavor.

Like I said, I am very happy to hear that you guys are doing this work and I can Only imagine that it takes obviously more than you to make this happen. So how important? And kind of give me an idea of what the organization is like as far as your colleagues and co workers go.

Yeah, that's a wonderful question. You know, the colleagues and coworkers that we have at Youth Solutions are some of the most talented people I personally have ever worked with.

I think there's a few strengths in our organization. Number one, we have folks that use solutions with a range of talents, whether they have been a superintendent at a school or a counselor at a school.

Maybe they've been in marketing for years. We've really been able to have a robust and wide ranging group of folks that are very, very mission driven.

And then you look at the strength of our network. And our network is made up of over 100 specialists. They're our teachers. They might not all have a teaching certificate, so we call them specialists.

Those people are the positive role models in our young adults lives. A lot of the youth we serve come from either single parent or guardian households.

Lack of a support system at home, lack of academic performance and motivation. They have economic barriers, social barriers, environmental barriers.

And so the people that I get the chance to work with and I'm honored to work with are these specialists that really work with the youth every day. And the primary way we do that is through the Michigan works agencies that exist around the state.

There's 16 of them, and we work with them to actually deliver the services at over 100 different programs around the state.

Glad you expanded on that because I honestly thought it was quite a bit smaller, but this sounds like it's become quite a large organization. Where exactly did this all kind of originate? Where did it come from? What's the history behind it?

And so we started a single program in Benton harbor called Jobs for Michigan's Graduates, based on the national model, the Jobs for America's Graduates model.

And then as we were talking with other workforce development agencies around the state, they said this might be something that would be beneficial for their area. So we continued to grow. And then we were able to secure a grant from the State of Michigan, the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

And with that, we were really able to expand to be statewide. And so now we have relationships with 15 of the 16 workforce agencies.

We provide programs in over 100 locations, and our youth hail from over 300 to 400 different cities, towns and villages, truly covering from Marquette down to Monroe.

Very cool. It sounds like it has become quite an organization, starting somewhat small, but then getting quite a bit bigger.

That's awesome that you guys are doing this. The show is called Shining Stars, and very often I like to dive in a little bit about who, whoever it is I'm talking to a little bit more.

Not to say that there is an importance in the organization, but I like to hear the people's stories that are driving these organizations. So in your case, as you look back at a younger Mollie, did you think that this is the type of work you would be doing?

You know, when you started reading my biography, it talked about having a servant heart or storytelling in service to others. That's been a part of who I am since as long as I can remember.

In all honesty, volunteering as a young person, even in my jobs, whether it was with Oscar Mayer or working for America's dairy farmers, there was always a service element there. And I always wanted to help people become whatever it is they wanted to be.

I think one of the joys in my career so far is the number of people that I've been able to mentor, either as a direct mentor or as their boss.

And having them continue to succeed and continue to stay in touch, I think that's one of the things that I bring to this world and to the different jobs that I have. And it's really about how can I help that person be everything they want to be, which ties so closely to the mission of Youth Solutions.

How can we help youth become everything that they want to be?

Certainly.

So it really has always been a part of my core being and a part of what brings me true inner joy.

And as I look at your background, seems to me you've had quite a bit of success in almost any field you've worked at. And I feel like one of the biggest key components, and I'm sure you'll agree with me, to success in your professional life, is lifelong learning.

How do you keep lifelong learning as a part of what you do and who you are?

I do completely agree. Lifelong learning is essential.

And so for me, throughout my career, whether it's been taking additional classes, maybe not necessarily for a credit but for ongoing professional development, I've also been trained and continue to work on my communication skills. We have a great program through LinkedIn learning and we access that quite frequently.

But then I'd say the one that maybe has the biggest impact is the people that I talk with on a regular basis, whether they're through work or through friends, groups or family. That's really where the lifelong learning comes in about what is it within me that I can improve?

How can I be a better person in this world, a better mentor? How can I listen better? Listen to understand, not listen to reply. I think a lot of folks listen to reply. It's kind of our fast paced society.

But being able to listen, to understand and try and put yourself as much as you can in someone else's shoes, I think that's important. And a big part of lifelong learning that is not a formal academic. It's a day to day experience.

Listen to podcasts, read blogs that you connect to, audio books. Those kinds of things I think are very important to round out the beauty of this gift that we have called life.

Certainly.

And listening is one of those things that as a communications person, I still to this day have difficulty from time to time where I'm like, I am not listening at all to what's happening right now. And you're right, it is definitely instrumental in lifelong learning and getting that knowledge.

So tell me a little bit about Youth Solution, the impact, the results, the accomplishments, some of the things that have happened where you're like, wow, this is awesome that we have accomplished this.

The best place to start is to share a story with you.

Okay.

There's a young man who came to us with very significant barriers to education and employment. When he joined our program, he was extremely shy, really didn't say much. He had a specialist who connected with him right from the get go.

She and he formed a very strong bond and she was able to help him come out of his shell a little bit. He was interested in some type of work in maybe electrical energy or he wasn't quite sure.

So as she continued to work with him, he was able to go to our National Student Leadership Academy in Washington D.C. first time he'd ever been on an airplane. First time he had ever left Inkster, Michigan.

When they were coming back from the trip, she turned down his street and he said, same old house, same old neighborhood. And she said to herself right then and there, I never want you to have to feel that this is the same old house, same old neighborhood again.

She helped him enroll in a Detroit Energy DTE Energy program as a summer intern. The successful summer interns can then land an opportunity to work for DTE while they're going to Henry Ford Community College.

He has successfully completed that part and he is now working at dte. That's just one amazing story of a young man who found a purpose and a sense of belonging.

And I think that's what makes Youth Solutions in what we do so unique. We foster that sense of belonging. So if you look at our numbers, we have an over 90% graduation rate over 10 years running.

We have between 80 and 85% of our young people either go on to post secondary success direct to employment or to the military. And we stay with our young people for 12 months after they get their GED or graduate from high school.

The reason being that is a pivotal transition time in a young person's life. How are you doing your first semester at community college? How is the job going? What do you need?

Those additional services can really be that pivot point between staying in a post secondary education or saying, I'm just going to work, I'm just going to go do what my dad did. We want you to do what you want. We want to expose you to all the many industries in Michigan that you could pursue a career in. Results are great.

That is a wonderful story and it is awesome to hear.

Obviously you know, from your viewpoint, you look at result or accomplishments and first of all a number basis, but also those personal stories when you are actually personally going, hey, I feel like I'm making a difference. Is it those personal stories or is it the numbers that you feel like, wow, this is really working. This is a good thing.

It's the personal stories that's really what gets me going every day. We have a couple different youth events.

In fact, yesterday I was in Middleville, Michigan, which is not too far from Grand Rapids, and we were at one of our annual events where we bring youth together at different YMCAs and we do team building exercises and to watch some of the real shy youth start the day being very hesitant. I'm not sure I want to try that rope climb. I'm not sure I want to try that rock climbing wall.

And then to see the other youth encourage them, I'm right here if you need me. Let me help you. That to me is more motivating. We need the results for our funders and to show the change that we're making.

Results are incredibly important.

But it's when I see a young person blossom or I see someone that could never public speak would have to run in the bathroom and be ill to being a very good public speaker, one of our youth, that's what motivates me.

I was actually one of those shy kids when I was growing up and I'm not even sure how I ended up where I'm at. The only thing I can say is I get to hide behind a microphone. So there you go.

Did you have a good mentor?

I would say that I had a couple of good mentors over my lifetime and that was helpful in breaking me out of my shell a little bit now. It took me a while. You kind of deal with some heavy subject matter here.

You're talking about trying to level the playing field for a lot of youth and I'm sure you see some hard cases. So what is it that you do personally to keep yourself positive when those moments come about? Because they do for everybody.

It is a sometimes very heavy job when you know that a young person is going home to a food insecure household or during the pandemic when there was no Internet service and they would go to a public library parking lot to try and get service, to try and at least connect virtually to a class. To stay positive. Part of me is innately positive. Growing up it was always, oh, there goes Mollie, always with a smile on her face.

I think that that's an element, but I believe wholeheartedly any person can choose a positive outlook. I read a lot of research and articles on the power of being positive. How many positive comments can keep your positive momentum going?

Good breathes good. How it can give you an internal chemical release of positive energy, of positive thinking.

I do it by working out regularly, spending time with family and friends, participating in things that I enjoy, whether it's walking or watching a football game or being out on the water or any number of things. Spending time with my nieces and nephews, even if it's just a quick five minute text to check in.

Surrounding myself with positive people who have positive things to say is definitely a way that I do it. And then it's also about making sure I'm there when someone else needs a shoulder. Because it's not just me that feels the heaviness.

A lot of times it's our specialists who are right there with the youth who's calling them at literally 2am and the specialist will talk to them, giving them a shoulder, helping lift them up. That makes me feel good too.

That carries over. Throw that positivity out there, it's just going to go to somebody else and passed on and passed on.

So one of my very favorite questions that I like to ask from time to time on the show is give me your definition of positive change and explain to me how Youth Solutions fits into that.

Positive change to me really is about making actions that influence a person or a situation to improve their outlook and their own situation. It can be as big as helping a young person find post secondary and employment success.

It can also be as behind the scenes as helping someone by giving them a compliment and helping them have a better day. Positive change can be big or small.

My favorite quote is from the Alchemist and I may not say it exactly, but the gist of it is a person's only true accountability in life is to find their true purpose.

For me, positive change is my true purpose and I think it should be everybody's because the power it has to make large scale changes is absolutely enormous.

I wholeheartedly agree. And it doesn't matter the amount of positivity you're putting out there.

Even if you're just holding the door or smiling at some somebody making somebody's day a little bit better. That little bit helps every time. And that's part of the idea behind this show too.

So what about folks that want to make a positive change by helping out or assisting your organization in doing what you are doing? How would they go about doing that?

Thank you for that question. I love it. So the best way to support us is to go to our website, www.ouryoutouthsolutions.org if you wish to contribute financially.

We would greatly appreciate that. If you'd like to learn more about our programs and services, you can do that at the website and then reach out to us.

We can get you in touch with a local area. Maybe you are a teacher or a superintendent or a principal and you want this program in your school. Great.

Maybe you are someone who interacts with a young person who would benefit from these services. Great. Reach out to us through the website. We're also on all the socials, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Very good.

Now I'll also have that information available on the podcast notes for anybody that wants to check it out@lccconnect.org earlier you asked the question, did I have a mentor? I kind of held off on that a little bit because I knew I was going to be asking you this a little bit later on to Answer your question.

Yes, I would say my main mentor in my life was my mom. She was a single mom racing four, three young boys, and that is quite a bit to accomplish. So my question to you is, who is your mentor?

Who do you look up to and say, that's kind of my main inspiration?

This answer will come as a surprise to no one. It's my father. My father is my dad is my life hero. Talk about a person with a positive outlook.

I am one of five girls, so you can only imagine the stress of five girls who fight quite a bit, all being teenagers at about the same time. But my dad is a man of strong character, integrity, great faith, positivity, perseverance through tough times.

Head over heels in love for 62 years with my mom.

Oh, great.

And they're now in their 80s, and just amazing to see the unconditional love. And I wish that for every single human.

And how he has mentored me is sometimes by not saying anything, but the lesson is profound, or by saying just a few words and letting me ponder it, or by sitting down and having a conversation with me. But he, to me, is everything a person should be, without a doubt.

Very cool. Very cool. It's amazing how we've got two completely different viewpoints, but we're both kind of landing in the same area. So that's good.

That's very good. So do you have a life motto, something that you'd like to share with other folks where you're like, hey, this is a great way to look at life.

My life motto is really tied to positive change. It's the golden rule. Treat others as you wish to be treated. I treat people with a positive outlook. Hold the door for someone like you just mentioned.

Say thank you to someone, a service person, if you can. Leave a few extra pennies, dollars, whatever, on the tip. Thank people who are working and showing up because we know they're stressed.

Thank the retail person, thank the mail person. Go about your day with grace and well wishes, and treat others the way you want to be treated.

Okay, all right. And you kind of, like touched on it a little bit right there where I was going next.

One of the things that I learned, I do not consider myself a naturally positive person. It is something I have to work at. And part of my is taking into account from time to time the things that I am grateful for.

And I usually have a daily practice where I stop myself in the middle of the day and I say, okay, this is what I am grateful for. What are you grateful for? Beyond work?

My health, my family, my friends. I have a very tight group of friends. We are family and friends wise. We are very honest with each other. We help each other. We lift each other up.

I am grateful for the air that I breathe. I'm grateful for the ability to live in Michigan, which is such my favorite place, and enjoy four seasons.

I'm grateful to be alive and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to impact others. But mostly I'm grateful for my friends, my family, my health, and my ability to make a difference.

That's awesome. Okay, so in your role, I would imagine that you do not get to have as much personal interaction with the youth as some folks in your organization.

But on those occasions that you do, what are the types of advice things that you would say to them? What would you say to a younger Mollie, I guess is the question

what I would say to a younger Mollie or what I would say to the youth that we work with is try different things, learn about different things. Be a curious person your whole life, a lifelong learner. There's so many careers out there. And be patient with yourself.

Your first career may not be your last career, and that's okay. You have time. Discover what it is you like. Find a career that fits what you like and what you're good at. Try a lot of things.

Give yourself patience and grace, and treat others the way you want to be treated.

Very cool. I will testify and be a testament to the fact that your first career choice may not be your final career choice.

Very often that happens that way, and I think that happens for a lot of folks. When we were talking at one point, there was something that you'd said about the power of raising the voice of the youth in our work.

What exactly do you mean by that?

Our customer is the youth. Our customer is that young person that we want to help get on a path to education and employment success.

Raising their voice is critically important to help them do that. It's also critically important to us because the youth is our future.

And so there's a number of things that we do, including we have a youth advisory council who help inform us on things connected to the programs that we deliver. We have an alumni network where we stay in touch with the young folks. And we have a series of web conversations called Coffee with a Purpose.

And Coffee with a Purpose is where youth talk about topics of high interest to them. So next week we have one where we're going to be talking about careers, particularly in the energy sector, because it's Careers and Energy Week.

But also about energy itself. Starting in the spring, we're going to have a three part web conversation where youth are going to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion.

Things that are very important to them.

We need to raise their voices to help them figure out what it is they stand for, what they want to do, but also to help us understand how do they see the world and how together can we work for positive change.

DEI is definitely something that is making greater strides and it is good to see. I do have one more question for you, but before we go, I want to say thank you very much for taking a little bit of time out of your day.

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to talk and meet you, so thank you for that. And I also want to say keep up the great work there at Youth Solutions.

Thank you so very much.

All right, here we go. This is the final question here. And this is one I ask of all my Shining Star guests.

If you had the ability to snap your fingers and put one thought in the collective consciousness of the entire human race at the same time, what would that thought be?

Youth are our future. Let's work with them to create the one we want.

I think that works. I think that works. All right, Mollie, snap your fingers.

Shining Stars Outro: Remember, we can all contribute something good to this world, no matter how big or small. A simple smile, a friendly gesture. That's all it takes to expand the power of positivity one inch further. I encourage you to find your shining star within by being the change you want to see. Thanks so much for listening to Shining Stars and, of course, sharing your time with me today. I'm Daedalian, and you can listen to this episode of Shining Stars on-demand along with other LCC Connect programs at LCCconnect.org.