As I recruited volunteers for the video project I was aware that we were getting a fairly good cross section of places, people and small businesses from around the state and yet there still seemed to be something missing, a youth perspective. Then I met Tommy. Tommy is 19 and entering the workforce with a bright mind and a strong heart for his community. He’s been on his own since he was 17 and continues to try and overcome lack of housing, reliable transportation and healthy food sources - but that hasn’t stopped him.


Tommy participated in the youth media project at The Oregon Consortium/Workforce Alliance working on Region 14: Rural Economics. Now Tommy is a part-time employee at Ontario’s Employment department and attending Treasure Valley Community College to receive his associate’s degree. He plans on joining a four-year college and then going into the Peace Corp where he intends on making his media/communications experience to develop a platform for global stories. Go get’m Tommy!

You can read and comment on all of Cassie Wieden's blog posts on the Rural Economy Project on Oregon Public Broadcasting's web site.

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