Like a batter going hitless, Joseph Dabo struggled to find a job after leaving the Navy – then the New York Mets and NYC Department of Veterans Services (DVS) connected him to Edge4Vets, where he received help to round the bases toward career success.
In June 2023, Dabo attended a job fair at Citi Field hosted by the New York Mets in collaboration with DVS. There, he learned about Edge4Vets, a workshop series offered by the Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office. He registered for the Edge4Vets workshop, where he learned how to translate his Navy skills into “tools” for the civilian workplace and connected with a hiring rep from Macquarie, a global financial company; Joseph applied for an open position and was hired. After a series of promotions, he attends Edge4Vets workshops regularly to support other veterans who struggle as he once did.
“I’m eager to give back after all that people did for me,” Dabo said. “I had applied for 100 jobs online and never heard back. There’s nothing like the mentoring you get from Edge4Vets and the network of personal contacts they help you build.”
Dabo is an Edge4Vets MVP, and he’ll serve as a mentor when Edge4Vets offers its FALL 2025 workshop next month at Vaughn College of Aeronautics on October 24 from 9:30 to 2:30 at 86-01 23rd Ave, Flushing, NY 11369.
This upcoming session is being offered in Queens, home to NY’s two airports, with support from Macquarie, KAAMCO Cargo, JFK Cargo Association, Airport Community Foundation, SSP America, and other airport employers led by Worldwide Flight Services and ASAK at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Airports have a great need for talent, and there’s no better employee than a veteran.Edge4Vets is offered nationally in partnership with Airports Council International-NA, and in New York in collaboration with NYC Department of Veterans Services. Recruitment partners create awareness and channel vets into the workshops; they are led by Vaughn, Fordham, CUNY, with its 23 public university schools, Black Veterans for Social Justice, Viscardi (supporting disabled vets), the National Guard, and many others.
For more information and to register for the October 24 workshop, visit Edge4Vets.org.
