Staff Interview: Tiffany Mealy
Staff at Tri-County Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates (JOG) play an important role in empowering our students. From building strong relationships, to mentorship and guidance to teaching academic skills, our Career Specialists do a little bit of everything to get our students that extra mile. One staff member who is a shining example of leadership and heart is Tiffany Mealy.
Tiffany has been with the JOG program for a little over 3 years, most of which she has spent working in Trumbull County as an Out-of-School Career Specialist. During her time at JOG, she has been able to do a plethora of different things. One of these is working on our out-of-school GED classes. Tiffany explained, “I have done all types of stuff since starting at JOG. One thing I have helped with is GED classes across all our counties, but especially in Summit and Trumbull Counties.”
When asked about some stories that have remained with her over her time at JOG, Tiffany expressed, “I have plenty of stories since I started. One that sticks with me is being able to get out of my ‘comfort zone’ and help with many subjects in the GED classes. The topic I normally teach is [English-Language Arts]. I have got to see how the classes are taught in Summit, refamiliarize myself with other subjects outside of ELA, and help teach our students those same subjects.
Staff at JOG are in a unique position to be both educators and mentors. These opportunities can be mutually beneficial too, as Tiffany explained, “At JOG you get to build relationships that are incredibly rewarding to both the student and to me. Because I get to build these relationships, I end up being the person that they rely on for support. It’s a good feeling knowing you have that trust with students.”
Tiffany is currently transitioning to a new role, working in both Trumbull and Summit Counties. During this transition she said the process presents a new challenge, especially towards working with Summit County students more after spending most of her time has been spent in Trumbull County, “Almost everything about Trumbull [County] is different than anywhere else we operate at JOG. Our out-of-school participants in Trumbull are generally older which also means that their needs are very different.”
Tiffany has been a cornerstone of JOG’s growth since she joined us. Her passion to help our students learn skills through the out-of-school GED program is a great example of the hard work our Career Specialists put in every day. We are proud of the work she has done so far, and we are excited to see Tiffany’s future endeavors here in her new role with JOG.
