By Journal Staff

LANSING — A Marquette-Alger Technical Middle College team won the JMG Bowl at the 13th Annual Career Development Conference at the Lansing Center, hosted by Youth Solutions on April 21.

The event welcomed nearly 150 Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates youth. Participants from across the state made their way to the capital to showcase their workplace skills and knowledge through career-based competitions.

JMG is the premier program of Youth Solutions, a non-profit organization focused on equipping young people with the skills to overcome barriers and succeed in education, employment and in life. Throughout the conference, individual and group events enabled participants to practice skills they learned in the JMG program throughout the year.

Career-based competitions provided participants with real-world practice for future employment while volunteer judges evaluated performance and offered feedback.

“This competition helps you hone in on good life skills, like problem solving, that will help you whether you are going to college or right into a job after high school,” said Cheyenne Holcomb, from the JMG program at Marquette-Alger Technical Middle College, in a news release. “All these events help you build on good qualities you can take with you and it’s so cool to have an opportunity like this.”

Members of the winning Marquette-Alger Technical Middle College team were: Caden LaFayette, Hannah Holman, Lily Sweticha. Andres Cardoso, Jairo Lopez, Emily Muller and Yisell Gonzalez. The team beat downstate squads from Benton Harbor High School, which was runner-up, and Hartford High School, which placed third.

For more information about Youth Solutions, Inc. or to become a partner, visit ouryouthsolutions.org; follow it on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter; or like it on Facebook at @ourYouthSolutions.