In February 2022 Hawthorne resident Ely Coronado, 19, was a low-income college student living with her parents and had a limited work history. Due to financial constraints and other pandemic-related concerns, she was forced to postpone her college education.

Ely had previously enrolled in youth employment services through the South Bay One-Stop Center in Inglewood while she was in high school so she returned to the Center to gain career pathway services as an Out of School Youth.

Ely was placed into a Paid Work Experience position in a Youth Barista Training Program with Azucanela, a Hawthorne-based small business. She learned foundational workplace and management skills, and gained valuable exposure to the entrepreneurial spirit.