Mecca youth's journey: From fields to Starbucks
17 year-old Andrew Ortega has worked to help support his family of eight since he was barely twelve. But this summer, he begins work in the air-conditioned indoors -- not in triple-digit heat in the fields of the Eastern Coachella Valley. He learned "how to dress and speak properly for interviews” through an AVID class (Advancement Via Individual Determination) in high school, and the Mecca Boys and Girls Club. Read about him and other teens seeking jobs and support on Coachella Unincorporated.