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 After Polly Bangs graduated from Portland State nine years ago with an English degree at age 24, she set out to find a job. And got rejected. “I come from a family of teachers,” she says, “and I didn’t know what I wanted to do after college. I just knew I didn’t want to be a teacher.”
Whether it was that rejection—or a “weird part of [her] that always wanted to change the world”—Polly’s life has turned into a crusade to get homeless and at risk youth into employment, and she wouldn’t trade it for a thing.
Bangs’ eclectic resume begins at New Avenues for Youth, where she was a day service counselor at the drop-in center. After nearly two years at New Avenues, Bangs had one of those famous “Aha!” moments when she felt she suddenly understood one of the components of what was holding these kids back, perpetuating the cycle of homelessness and unemployment. It was this: “They needed income. They just wanted to work. But many of the youth at New Avenues didn’t have addresses, or a phone. No one was giving them the chance.”
Bangs used that insight to take the plunge into a daunting arena: the restaurant industry. Amid the Atkins craze of 2004, and despite the abundance of doubters, Bangs opened Pasta Bangs on North Mississippi Avenue to serve the dual mission of offering delish dining and real-life job skills training for at-risk and homeless youth. “People said I was crazy. But once I start something, I finish it,” she says.
Inspired by Jamie Oliver, the famed “Naked Chef,” Bangs managed to employ over 50 youths for three to six-month stints during Pasta Bangs’ three-year existence. Bangs says her role was to “interview, train, supervise, critique, hire and give these youth that first job they couldn’t get anywhere else.”
Even before Pasta Bangs sold its last plate of pesto penne, Bangs was working on her next venture: starting an organization to work under a larger nonprofit, to continue her mission of finding job placements for at-risk youth. Less than two months later, Urban Opportunities was born.
Currently the do-all mastermind behind Urban Opportunities, Bangs trains 40 youths each year from five Portland-area high schools to do everything from creating their first résumé to securing their first job. Ironically, in her own unconventional way, Bangs is also the epitome of a great teacher. As for the future? “I’d like to expand the program,” Bangs says, “…to Hawaii.” And laughs. “But really, I think this is a program that could work anywhere, and I would like to
see it grow.” While the future may remain uncertain, one thing is sure: Polly Bangs is always spinning those wheels. As she puts it, “I get a little wiggy if I don’t have something I’m working on.” |
