A Family of Success

BTE Student Stories

Written By: Rahmon Adeshokan, Pathway to Success Participant

BTE Alumni Site: Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA

My name is Rahmon “Timi” Adeshokan. I am currently a  sophomore studying Electrical Engineering at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. I joined the Pathway to Success program through Johnson & Johnson’s Bridge to Employment (BTE) program during my junior year of high school.  That was in  2019. When I first heard about the program, I was eager to be a member because I believed it would help me stay focused in school and work on my professional career development. Before I joined the program, I struggled with time management, how to conduct myself  in an interview, and how to effectively work with others. Through the various seminars and meetings I attended in this program, I overcame  my previous struggles. By working on the interview skills and time management exercises I was taught, I was able to work at two jobs, play a sport, and be an active member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in high school.  

Through Pathway to Success, I was also motivated to take college classes at my local community college when I graduated from high school in 2020, instead of being idle at home. Not only did Pathway to Success help me be a  better student, but it also inspired me to volunteer my time and give back to the community. For example, after meeting with my FHI 360 mentor and different individuals from Johnson & Johnson who volunteered their time to participate in an informal interview during this summer seminar in June 2021, I decided to volunteer at a church camp for a week and started helping out at a food pantry on Mondays and Wednesdays from late June until August.  .  

One of my favorite memories from Pathway to Success was from our summer Pre-College Academy seminar in July 2019. During that summer, I and other participants helped with cleaning the garden at The College of New Jersey, as well as helped organize supplies at a local food pantry in Trenton. We even had the chance to visit a local art museum. This event is one of my favorite experiences because it was packed with many activities, and I had fun while completing them and making new friends and mentors in the process.

“If there is one thing I can recommend to anyone looking to be a better person, it will be the Pathway to Success program. This is because, in Pathways, we are like a family. We help and motivate each other to work hard, give back to the community, and have fun.”

I will also recommend this program to my friends because you are surrounded by individuals who are wise, kind, caring, and smart. It kind of rubs off on you.