I grew up in Park City with the mountains basically in my backyard. I always wanted to learn to snowboard, but I never had the opportunity to until I joined SOS Outreach. Once I did, my life changed.
First, I started learning the basics. How to get on and off a lift, how to make S-turns, and so on. But as I progressed in the sport, I soon began to realize that snowboarding was so much more than just an activity that people did. It’s a community, a passion, and a bridge to opportunities I never imagined.
Last summer, I joined the SOS Outreach Career Development Program to learn job skills and get to practice them in the workplace.
The program started as expected and I learned the basics of resume writing, interviewing, and professionalism in the workplace. It felt good to learn these skills because it’s not really something we get to learn in school. After two weeks of the career intensive, SOS helped me apply and get a paid position working for Park City Mountain in partnership with Epic Promise.
My time at Park City Mountain opened my eyes to job possibilities in the ski industry that I didn’t even know existed.
All of a sudden I realized that if I wanted to, I could turn my love of snowboarding into a fulfilling career. I learned so much, met so many kind people, and had mentors who went out of their way to help me be successful. I’m not sure if I’ll work in the ski industry or not, but I can say the opportunities I’ve gained from learning to snowboard through SOS have been life-changing.
Eimee Meneses
South Salt Lake