East Hill News: Energy Warriors program provides paths to green jobs, and hope

When Zutiyah Graham moved to upstate New York in 2021, she found herself in the same employment rut she’d been in back in North Carolina.

She was in and out of an automotive training program in Oneonta and worked briefly at Walmart, where she was frequently assigned to supervise self-checkout. For someone who likes to stay active, to use her hands, it was torture.

Graham wanted something more.

“I felt like, you know what, it’s time you look for a career, not a job,” she said. “You want some stability, something you could call yours and a job you don’t dread.”

The answer for Graham – who now works as an HVAC installation technician for Halco Energy, in a job she described as “perfect” for her – came in the form of Energy Warriors, an intensive 12-week program that trains adults, many of whom face obstacles to employment, for jobs in the green sector. Offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County (CCE Tompkins County) since 2021, the program provides anyone 18 or older with a comprehensive foundation in environmental literacy, from climate change to renewable energy broadly, to specific efforts to lower the region’s carbon footprint, with an emphasis on new and expanding career paths.

So far, 36 graduates have earned certification as environmental specialists through the program, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as a pre-apprenticeship. Post-graduation, the program offers support in finding employment, including connections to employers, resume and interview prep, transportation and the purchase of needed supplies, such as tools and shoes.

“It’s a simple philosophy,” said Aloja Airewele, program leader and equity, diversity and inclusion coordinator for CCE Tompkins County. “We are investing in their future, knowing that investment will yield more than 100-fold for the next generation.”

In addition to hard and soft skills, participants said the program offers something even more significant: hope.

“That’s what I’m all about: Giving people more options, more chances, more hope and more agency than they initially think or feel they have,” said Keegan Young, an alum of the program and now a teacher in it, who faced housing and employment challenges after serving time in prison. “I’ve been there before, and I know how important it is to let people know and see their potential.”

Some participants in the program have been incarcerated or come from underprivileged backgrounds, while others are searching for work after graduating from high school or college. All of them are looking for more than just a paycheck.

“For me to have meaning in my life, I need to find ways to impact people and help the planet,” said Harrison Hensley, an Energy Warriors alum and college graduate who now works for CCE Tompkins County as a community energy educator. “Energy Warriors showed me that it was possible to find that job and that space that’s right.”

For Graham, the program’s investment in her as a person made her stick with it. “They help with stuff like your mental health,” she said, “and at a certain point, I was like, why would I not go there every day? Something there is really benefiting me.”

This focus on the whole person is intentional, Airewele said.

“It’s not so much the technical knowledge,” he said, “but working with individuals to raise their personal value.”

Airewele said that means giving them everything from a healthy breakfast and good coffee and a nice place to learn, to long-term support that extends beyond the classroom.

For example: Not only did Energy Warriors staff help Graham find employment, but they also bought the clothes and tools she needed for the job and drove her to work the first week. They made sure she was prepared to make a good first impression.

“That’s really what it takes to get and keep a job,” Airewele said. “And we want to open doors for the individuals who really need it.”

“I’ve been having so much support here, and it’s helped me level up,” Graham said. “Now I know I’m going far because every single day I wake up, and I think about my future.”