In the food-obsessed, quiet little city of Portland, OR, sits Elephants Deli.

Tucked away in the quiet and trendy Nob Hill section of Portland, home to quaint and local boutiques and enough shopping to exhaust the most staunch devotee, Elephants is a force to be reckoned with. A locally branded, sustainable and creative deli, Elephants makes its mark and carved out its niche with amazing, from scratch local food and a relaxed, creative and laid back atmosphere.

From their website:

“Since 1979, Elephants Delicatessen has proudly served our community as Portland’s premier catering company and specialty foods retailer.

We make all of our great local foods from scratch every day for your eating enjoyment. We’ve had the pleasure of cooking for so many of you over the years, and we truly appreciate the opportunity to share our passion for good taste. “

Elephants is purely THE place to be if you are committed to local and incredible food. Springdale Job Corps students and culinary instructor Chef Earl Frederick do their best to uphold the values of a local, sustainable and creative food standard – and partnering with Elephants seems like the most logical – and most exciting, next step for Springdale.

Now, let me introduce you to Joslyn – in her own words.

“Things were not at all what I wished they were. We moved a lot when I was growing up, and by the time I got into high school, I didn’t feel like I was going anywhere and I felt like I didn’t really belong to anything. 
Finally, my mom sat down and had a chat with me about where my life was going.  My uncle had gone to a Job Corps in Oregon, and he loved every second of it. In fact, when he came back from his time at Job Corps – I barely recognized him. He had focus, and direction, and now makes a great living in his field.
 
I figured I had nothing to lose – I didn’t know what I wanted to do, didn’t feel like I belonged and wasn’t really moving in the right direction to graduate. I came to Job Corps not knowing what to expect – thinking at the least, I could get my high school diploma out of it.
 
Today, I have my GED and am only a half a credit away from my high school diploma. I have served in SGA as a representative from my hall, as well as vice-president and on my center’s green committee and tobacco-free committee. I hold leaderships in my dorm and in my trade, culinary arts, and served as dining room manager.
 
Job Corps has given me more than I can say. I have confidence in myself, and feel like I can really be me for the first time. I’m encouraged to lead others and have found in myself the confidence to be the leader I never knew I was. I know what I want to do with my life and am pursuing the advanced career training program through Job Corps, intending on going to Mount Hood Community College.”

Joslyn is a student that has held leaderships on the green team at Springdale, along with being chosen as the student represent the center at the MTC Leadership Conference and NJCA Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. Joslyn is an amazingly artistic young woman and enjoys her career in the culinary arts, and for her initial internship was hired at the prestigious Elephants Deli central kitchen.

Joslyn flourished – attacking her projects with flair and being determined, communicative and enthusiastic. So determined, in fact – that as a final flourish, Elephants Deli central kitchen hired their first Springdale Job Corps student!

We are excited to see what Joslyn, Elephants, and Springdale accomplish in the future.