When Erica Cook\u2019s cousin mentioned an upcoming employment event in her community, she didn\u2019t expect it to kickstart a career in solar. Erica, recently widowed and the mother of small children, was eager to find more ways to support her family.<\/p>\n
The event turned out to be an orientation at I Am My Brother\u2019s Keeper (IAMBK). GRID Alternatives and IAMBK have worked together for years, referring trainees back and forth for their different programs. Erica\u2019s hardworking and curious nature immediately caught the attention of IAMBK\u2019s class facilitator and she was referred to GRID Alternatives as a way to get some hands on experience.<\/p>\n
Erica hit the ground running — smart and passionate, she picked up solar basics remarkably fast. Soon she was up on the roof, shining bright among her training cohort. Although she\u2019d never worked in construction, Erica gathered her innate strength and focus and set out to learn as much as possible. When an opportunity for a Construction Assistant position opened at GRID via LISC AmeriCorps, Erica was a natural fit. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so fun working with new people every day,\u201d Erica says. \u201cPlus I\u2019m so interested in solar, environmental literacy, community based employment, environmental justice and helping low-income families.\u201d<\/p>\n
At GRID she says she feels like she has found all of that.<\/p>\n
Erica has learned all of the steps of inspection and site surveys, as well as solar installation and has easily stepped into a leadership role, now she is passing her knowledge on to new solar trainees. \u201cI remember being in their shoes,\u201d says Erica. \u201cSo I\u2019m happy to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erica says she\u2019s so excited about the growing solar industry. \u201cIt\u2019s a great place to be! And I\u2019m looking forward to staying in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
AmeriCorps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency for volunteering, service, and civic engagement. CNCS engages millions of Americans in citizen service through its AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs and leads the nation\u2019s volunteer and service efforts. For more information, visit NationalService.gov. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Erica needed employment and wanted to do something positive in her community — for her, solar was the answer.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"audience":[],"content-type":[12],"focus-area":[],"region":[16],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-6745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","content-type-news","region-southern-california"],"acf":{"hero_media_type":"image","hero_media_image":null,"hero_media_url":"","hero_media_poster":null,"hero_video_play":"inline","related_stories":null,"pattern_override":null,"story_callouts":null,"media":null,"featured_blog_post":null,"featured_event":null,"pdf_download":null,"blockquote":null,"author":null,"notice":null,"social_embed":null,"contact_card":null,"meta_details":null,"faq":null,"table":null},"yoast_head":"\n