Gabriella Velasquez, Assistant Office Manager for Grade Tech, is celebrating 3 years with the company. In honor of Gabi’s dedication and contribution to the company’s success, Grade Tech is donating $1,000 to Gabi’s charity of choice—Utah Volunteers of America’s Homeless Youth Services.
The group provides several programs for homeless and at-risk youth and young adults, including those who experience mental illness. The various programs provide shelter and basic necessities, life skills training, employment assistance, dental and medical care, mental health services and more—all aiming to help youth and young adults in the Wasatch Front achieve self-sufficiency and overcome homelessness.
The charitable contribution to Utah Volunteers of America’s Homeless Youth Services is part of Grade Tech’s “giving back” program which supports the local community by celebrating employees’ work anniversaries (after the first 3 years of employment) by making annual donations to the employees’ “charities of choice.” This is the first year Gabi’s charity is eligible for the donation.
“We’re happy to have Gabi in the office, working side-by-side with her mom to keep us running smoothly, and proud to support her favorite charity,” said Rory Hall, Grade Tech’s Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer. “She is passionate about the VOA’s Homeless Youth Services and we are proud to join with her to help get our teens and young adults off the streets.”
Gabi first learned of the VOA’s programs in 2018 when she had the opportunity to do an “alternative spring break” in which a group of students spent their spring vacations volunteering at various local organizations. “I really got an understanding of the homeless situation in Utah,” she explained. “This program helps these young people when they are at their lowest; when they don’t have anywhere to go, or got kicked out of their homes. I am happy to help them in any way I can.”
Gabi was born and raised in Utah—first in Moab then after a brief move to Delaware, in Salt Lake City. Her first job was at a UPS freight warehouse as a Forklift Operator. She started cleaning the Grade Tech office (where her mom worked as the Office Manager) and was offered the job as the Assistant Office Manager. In this role, she helps keep the office running smoothly and spends a lot of time on the computer, working with Intuit QuickBooks and Microsoft Excel. Her favorite part about her jobs is working with the guys and seeing what Grade Tech does first hand. She also loves seeing how the equipment works to get the job done.
Although she likes her job and the opportunity to see how the business runs, she hopes to transition to a position where she can work with her hands. She recently earned her degree as a Diesel Mechanic from Salt Lake Community College and hopes to eventually be out in the field working with the equipment. “I would be happy learning how to operate the equipment, haul with the big trucks or work as a mechanic,” she said.
When she’s not working, Gabi enjoys playing video games (streaming through Twitch) and creating costumes for conventions like Comicon. She also likes to spend time outdoors, fishing, hunting and shooting guns.
Please join us in congratulating Gabi on her 3-year anniversary with Grade Tech and wishing her more success in the years to come!
