Meet Mario Bayne of Career Concepts for Youth in Central

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mario Bayne.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Mario. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Born in Panama raised in New York, USA. Lost my dad at the age of nine to a heart attack and my mom at the age of 18 to cancer. My life long dream since seven years of age was to play professional baseball. I received an athletic scholarship to Arizona State University, and a knee injury ended that dream. Needless to say, I was devastated, angry, and resentful to what had occurred to me. I was fortunate while rebuilding my self-worth that I was selected for a management program in the Hospitality Industry. I had become successful in the eighteen and a half years I spent in Sales and Marketing with three major hotel chains. From here, I was offered a marketing opportunity with a Fortune 500 company. I turned it down because I felt a calling to help at-risk youth who were having similar experiences I had gone through. This became the vision for Career Concepts for Youth; CCY, which I am now the Founder and President.

I developed a curriculum that would empower middle school youth with tools for understanding academic effort and career awareness with a growth mindset to begin the process of becoming productive members in society. I have experienced that middle school is the appropriate age for a student to develop good working habits without pressure from outside influences. In 29 years, CCY has touched tens of thousands of youth with our “Stay In School & Achieve program”.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As with any success comes struggles and sometimes failure. I had to build an organization on a philosophy of three important visions; leadership skills, realistic goals, and support beyond myself. The mantra of betting on yourself is critical in your journey to succeeding.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
CCY is a non-profit organization that uses the concept of private and public partnerships helping our children; the future workforce. We contract with public schools to implement our six months program using workshops that complement the schools curriculum. Our program begins with goal setting. Students begin their personal journey in becoming aware of the importance of high school graduation. We promote responsibility building, accountability, up holding consequences, writing reports, presenting guest speakers that have overcome personal challenges our students are facing, and field trips to enforce job opportunities. Our students grow up with respect for themselves and become productive citizens returning from high school graduation and college.

As guest speakers, they emphasize the program works! Expressions are made to listen and follow the steps to success, as they serve as visual validation of its merits. Corporations and grant entities provide support as teammates in our mission to help Arizona’s children. The importance of youth having problem-solving and coping skills along with love, discipline, and expectations, is powerful for their growth mindset. Along with my consulting company “3 Steps Ahead LLC”, we strive to show the connection between Education, Innovation, and Community. The ultimate impact on society is the advancement of our children to finish school and become productive people who lead the future.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Devotion to our students.

“The greatest gift is to know you have choices and to be accountable for your own choice in life!” ~ Mario A. Bayne

Pricing:

• Book resources are available at www.careerconceptsforyouth.org starting @ $14.95

Contact Info:

• Website: www.careerconceptsforyouth.org and 3StepsAheadLLC.org (consulting)
• Phone: 602-852-3936
• Email: careerconceptsforyouth@cox.net

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