Apartment Industry Job Shadow Day Seeks to Empower Foster Youth

For the third year in a row, the Apartment Association of Greater Orlando (AAGO) and the AAGO Foundation, Inc. partnered with Goodwill of Central Florida, Community Based Care of Central Florida and the City of Life to provide a hands-on job shadow experience for central Florida foster youth.

The Apartment Industry Job Shadow Day was held from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm on July 25th at various AAGO member sites throughout central Florida. Participants had an opportunity to visit AAGO member companies and spend the afternoon learning about the diverse career paths in the apartment industry.  

This annual event is part of the AAGO Foundation’s greater effort to empower teens transitioning out of central Florida’s foster care system. “Apartment industry Job Shadow Day is a unique opportunity for our members and the industry to demonstrate what a day in the life of a leasing professional, maintenance technician, apartment manager, or supplier account executive looks like,” said AAGO’s Chief Executive Officer, Chip Tatum.

In addition to providing a valuable learning experience for local foster youth, this event gives AAGO member companies a chance to recruit new employees for central Florida’s growing apartment industry. Heather Powell, a Senior Property Manager for PRG Real Estate, shared her excitement for this year’s event when she said, "This is the third year our company has participated in Job Shadow Day. I have a passion for education and want to inspire the future work force to join our industry and experience the wonderful career opportunities we have to offer."

"The apartment industry isn't anything I ever thought of as a career path, and I'm very fortunate that I fell into it,” said Charlie Brown who is a General Sales Manager for ForRent. “I enjoy participating in Job Shadow Day because it gives me an opportunity to show a few young minds a glimpse into the things I do everyday, and hopefully it makes an impression on them, their future, or how they view their career path options."