Bolingbrook Restaurant Helps Valley View Student Learn Job Skills

Photo: Adrianna Venegas works at Honey-Jam Cafe.

'Visitors to Honey-Jam Café may have noticed a new face on the Bolingbrook restaurant’s team lately. She’s Adrianna Venegas, a student in Valley View’s Secondary Transition Experience Program (S.T.E.P.), and thanks to the generosity of Honey-Jam Chief Operating Officer Kirk Mauriello, she is enjoying the benefits of STEP’s successful community work program.

“Our program is designed to help our students learn skills that they can take into the community to obtain employment when they leave us,” said STEP Transition Specialist Kelly Walsh.

“When I heard about the program, I immediately thought that our culture at Honey-Jam Café would be a perfect fit for a young person looking to learn and be part of something,” Mauriello said.

The 20-year-old Venegas was one of three STEP students who went through a “performance tryout” designed to give students a chance to see if they like it while giving community partners an opportunity to make sure they’ve made the right decision.

“Adrianna knocked it out of the park,” Walsh said.

“She was a perfect fit for us,” Mauriello added. “We were looking for an eager and energetic student who could fit in with our team of employees.”

Venegas puts in four-hour days, three days a week preparing items for the kitchen staff, labeling and boxing items. She has high hopes of becoming a server or hostess at some point.

“I told them I would work wherever they wanted me to,” she said. “I’m everywhere. I like it. They’re very nice. We treat each other like family. I can’t believe this is happening to me.”

“Adrianna is working out great. She is always smiling and always willing to help any staff with any tasks,” Mauriello said. “She completes her work on time and in an expedient manner. She gets along great with our staff, and the fact that she speaks Spanish is a plus.”

More than a dozen of the roughly 100 STEP students hold paying jobs in the community similar to Venegas’ job.

“We would like all of our students who are able to have paid employment when they leave us,” Walsh said, adding that the program would love to have more community partners come forward with new positions, something Mauriello heartily recommends.

“I think all businesses have opportunities that they could offer these young adults. They bring a different perspective to hard work and eagerness to learn in the workplace,” he said. “I hope that we can find a couple more positions for these individuals as our business grows.”

Businesses interested in becoming a STEP community partner like Honey-Jam Café should contact Walsh at 630-679-1210.

Submitted by Valley View School District