Mentoring in Action at LAUSD North Hollywood High School Modernization Project

September 13, 2021

Mentoring in Action at LAUSD North Hollywood High School Modernization Project

Fifteen-year-old Jaylin Haacker likes softball, rap, country music, and TikTok star Noah Beck. A sophomore at Paloma Valley High School in Menifee, she also likes to imagine what her future might look like. What path should she take? Social work, dermatology, professional softball pitcher? But her dad Jeremy, a foreman at Howard Contracting working on the LAUSD North Hollywood High School Modernization project, had another option for her.

Jeremy works closely with Elda Kosik, a superintendent for Clark on the project, and reached out to see if she'd be willing to show Jaylin what a day-in-the-life looks like on site. Elda was thrilled!

“I thought it would be good to show her that construction is an option where women can be in charge and be running things,” said Jeremy. 

“When I heard about Elda, I was intimidated,” confessed Jaylin. “I saw her have these intense conversations with the construction crews and she always kept her cool. She walked me around the site, explained to me what her duties were, and showed me drawings of what the building will look like when it’s finished!"

As a bonus, Jaylin also saw her dad in action. “I always thought he just rode tractors all day,” says Jaylin with a laugh. Now that she’s had a glimpse, Jaylin says she’d most definitely consider going into the industry like her dad and of course, Elda.

“Having Jaylin on site was a breath of fresh air. It was awesome getting to teach and show her the process of how boxes and lines on drawings equate to foundations, rebar, steel, and eventually structures in our community,” said Elda. “Seeing Jaylin understand the process and exposing her to our project was a very neat experience and reminded me of how much more we should be doing this!  It's so important to expose the younger generation to our industry.”

Another dad has asked if Elda can show his daughter the ropes. Elda is more than happy to do so - and the industry is all the better for it.