Spa owner mentors Long Beach youth through Pacific Gateway program
Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network helps youth in Long Beach find jobs and explore careers.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- In the east village of Long Beach, you'll find Amber Miller aesthetics.
Miller, who was born and raised in Long Beach, is an aesthetician and mentor.
If you walk through the doors of her business, you may notice some of her employees are actually in high school.
"I just want to give back to the community that I'm from and also young women and so it's very important to me," Miller said.
Daphne Carrasco is in high school. She's currently a senior and she works at the front desk.
"I was really hoping that through this, I would be able to break out of my shell, be more open than I normally am," Carrasco said.
Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network helps youth in Long Beach find jobs and explore careers. They connect teens like Carrasco to mentors like Miller. Miller has worked with five teens through the program including Carrasco.
"I teach them how to open their own business, so all the opening duties and closing duties, but also getting familiar to work with customers, clients that come in, getting them booked, scheduled for a facial, also giving them a call, following up on appointments," Miller said.
Growing up she says she was inspired and found her passion for helping others through her father, former NFL player Chuckie Miller. Amber Miller says her dad did a lot to give back the community.
"When I found out that she was opening up this business, when I found out she opened it, it was one of my proudest moments in life and it wasn't even my business, but I felt like she got it. She got what I was trying to show her and she turned it into a reality," Chuckie Miller said.
Amber Miller has soft launched her business so she could begin mentoring teens right away, but the grand opening is Saturday, Jan. 28.
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