Twenty-Five Years in the Classroom Inspired One Teacher to Build a New Future for Westside Students

She has celebrated their successes, encouraged them through setbacks, and watched many prepare to take their next steps after graduation. Yet one challenge continued to surface. Too many students lacked the professional connections, career exposure, confidence, and opportunities needed to turn their potential into a lasting career.

Rather than accepting those barriers as part of the educational system, Ryan decided it was time to build something different.

That vision became the Long Beach Legacy Foundation, a developing nonprofit created to connect Westside students with educators, mentors, employers, industry professionals, and community leaders who believe every young person deserves an opportunity to succeed.

“We see a need that isn’t being fulfilled by the schools,” Ryan explained during a recent planning meeting. “We want to bridge industries to kids.”

Ryan’s mission is rooted in her years of working directly with students and seeing what can happen when a young person receives the right encouragement, guidance, and opportunity.

The foundation will focus on students throughout Long Beach’s Westside, a community rich in history, resilience, and untapped talent. Ryan believes its young people are among its greatest assets. Her goal is to help ensure they have access to the relationships and experiences that can open doors beyond the classroom.

More Than a Diploma, A Pathway to Opportunity

The Long Beach Legacy Foundation is being developed to help students prepare for life after graduation through mentorship, career exploration, hands-on learning, internships, leadership development, and connections with local industries.

The goal is not to replace what students are learning in school. It is to strengthen that education by helping them understand how their skills can translate into employment and long-term career opportunities.

During the July planning meeting, educators, workforce specialists, nonprofit leaders, students, and community partners gathered to begin shaping Ryan’s vision into a long-term strategy.

Among them was longtime Cabrillo engineering instructor Steve Marsh, whose background includes decades in technical education and the manufacturing industry. His experience has shown him that technical knowledge alone is not always enough to help a student enter the workforce.

Employers are also looking for young people who arrive on time, communicate clearly, work well with others, follow directions, and know how to present themselves professionally.

Former Long Beach Unified School District Board President Dr. Felton Williams helped guide the group through the process of turning its ideas into measurable goals. The discussion centered on preparing students not only to qualify for employment, but also to succeed once they are hired.

Mock interviews, résumé preparation, mentorship, job shadowing, internships, career exposure, and workplace expectations were all discussed as possible parts of the developing program.

A common message emerged throughout the meeting: Westside students have the ability to succeed, but many need greater access to industry connections, practical experience, and someone willing to help open the first door.

Building Confidence Before Building Careers

Ryan’s vision reaches beyond job placement.

She wants students to understand their own value and recognize that they are capable of building successful futures. The foundation will work to develop resilience, communication skills, emotional regulation, confidence, leadership, and the professional habits young people need to move successfully through the workplace.

Those qualities can grow through experience.

A mock interview can teach a student how to make eye contact, answer questions, and speak confidently about their abilities. An internship can introduce a career that student may never have considered. A mentor can share lessons learned through years of professional experience. A hands-on project can help a student discover a skill they did not know they had.

Current and former Cabrillo students offered examples of how those opportunities can change someone’s direction.

Recent graduate Axel described how an internship introduced him to the electrical trades and helped shape his plans to attend Long Beach City College. Without that exposure, he said, he might never have discovered the career path now guiding his future.

David Robinson, a member of Cabrillo’s graduating class of 2027, is learning advanced manufacturing skills while preparing to help mentor younger students. Instead of simply completing a project and moving on, he will be able to share what he has learned with others.

That student-to-student model creates a cycle of leadership. Young people gain practical skills, build confidence, and then return to help the students coming behind them.

For Ryan, these students represent the reason she is putting so much time and energy into building the Long Beach Legacy Foundation.

She envisions schools, businesses, healthcare providers, manufacturers, colleges, nonprofit organizations, skilled tradespeople, retired professionals, and civic leaders working together to expand opportunities for Westside youth.

Each partner can contribute something different. One business may provide an internship. A professional may speak to students about a career. A retired worker may become a mentor. An organization may host a job-shadowing visit. A community supporter may provide equipment, funding, or a valuable introduction.

After spending 25 years serving students inside the classroom, Ryan is working to create opportunities that continue after the school day ends and long after graduation.

Through the Long Beach Legacy Foundation, she hopes to build something lasting, not only for today’s students, but for future generations of the Westside.

Be Part of the Team and Help the Westside Build a Legacy

Julie Ryan has the vision, and Westside students have the talent. Building the bridge between them and the professional world will take an entire community.

For local businesses and industry professionals, the Long Beach Legacy Foundation offers an opportunity to help develop the next generation of skilled employees while strengthening the future workforce of Long Beach's Westside. Mentoring students, offering internships, hosting job-shadowing experiences, and sharing professional

expertise can make a lasting difference while helping students better understand the careers waiting for them.

Community members, organizations, and donors also play a vital role. Financial support, donated resources, professional connections, and volunteer time will help create opportunities that many students might never have otherwise. Every contribution helps expand access to mentorship, career exploration, and life-changing experiences.

The future of the Westside will be built one student, one mentor, and one opportunity at a time.

To become part of that legacy, contact Julie Ryan to learn how you can support the Long Beach Legacy Foundation and help open doors for the next generation.

Julie Ryan
Telephone: 310-480-1545
Email: jryan@longbeachlegacy.org