In this difficult economy, there is a lot of competition for entry-level jobs. Non-English speaking newcomers are viewed with some trepidation by many employers. Yet last fall, RIS developed a mutually rewarding relationship with Embassy Suites. During last year's holiday season, the hotel needed to fill a number of banquet serving positions. The banquet, catering and conference events are the largest moneymakers for the hotel, and for their most lucrative season Lori was somewhat apprehensive about hiring so many people with both limited serving skills and rudimentary English language capability. With a bit of convincing from RIS' ever-persuasive Randi Akers, the Embassy Suites manager agreed to provide three days of training, after which she would select the best servers out of the group. After the training, we were pleased that all 15 of our servers-in-training were chosen!

Because of the enthusiasm and hard work of our refugee clients during the holidays, the manager asked the human resources department to thereafter filter our clients into all available hotel positions. The level of success of this partnership can easily be weighed against the effort and commitment of all involved.

Michael Crawford, exectutive housekeeper at Embassy Suites, with regugee employees.
"I love working with refugees," says Crawford. "They work so hard."

As time went by, the relationship with the hotel deepened. Last spring, Lori Medford and the hotel management staff rolled up their sleeves in the RIS warehouse to spent an afternoon sorting donations, cleaning and stocking shelves. Soon after, HRIS held its major fundraising event at the hotel and nearby conference center. Lori was a key player, along with the other Community Board members, in making this event successful beyond our expectations.

As the relationship with Embassy Suites broadened, the RIS Education Coordinator worked with Lori to create an ESL Computer Lab on-site at the workplace. RIS was offered the use of a break room for the ESL Computer Lab because it was available for the refugees to practice their English before work, after work or during their break time. A volunteer installed the computers and helped to teach the refugees how to use the program.

Shahad Mubarak, a 21-year-old refugee from Iraq, is a hotel employee and ESL student whose whole family has been hired by Embassy Suites. She came to the U.S. with no English but a lot of determination to succeed. After her training, she was placed in the Embassy Suites coffee shop. Her beautiful smile and helpful nature in combination with her dedication to learning English has enabled her to now work alone in the coffee shop, effectively managing the shop for the hotel. She says, "I like work in Embassy Suites. They all help my family." Shahad is now taking her first classes at Thomas Nelson Community College.

Suzi Smith is Education Coordinator for Refugee and Immigration Services in Hampton