JOG Students Showcase Skills at the 2026 Youth Career Olympics
March 12, 2026 | By Dani Young, Communications & Marketing Specialist
The Youth Career Olympics (YCO) is an annual event that celebrates the students in our Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates (JOG) program. Held on March 11th at the Huntington Convention Center, nearly 150 students competed across seven local high schools.
For 2026, those schools were:
Cleveland Heights High School
East Tech High School
Glenville High School
John Marshall High School - Civic and Business Leadership
John Marshall High School - Information Technology
Lincoln-West School of Global Studies
Warrensville High School
During the morning competitions, JOG students showcased the business skills they developed throughout the school year in both team and individual events. The top three winners in each category received awards. Check out the full list of our 2026 YCO winners!
At the celebration luncheon, the prepared speaking winner, Nevaeh from John Marshall Civic & Business Leadership, gave their emotional, powerful speech in front of the large crowd.
Nevaeh spoke about overcoming obstacles and how the JOG program inspired her to be an entrepreneur one day. She plans to open up a café that is a safe and welcoming space for all.
“It taught me that I can be professional, I can be bold,” Neveah said. “I knew there's something I wanted to be — absolutely anything.”
“Thank you, Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates, for showing me another way. For showing that labels are things of the imagination — limitations we set in ourselves — because fear of greatness is the greatest enemy.”
Other highlights included:
Students visited the Opportunity Fair sponsored by CVS Health, where they learned about more than 20 local organizations with current employment opportunities.
Students and staff from our partner organization, Open Door’s Academy, attended the Opportunity Fair and luncheon.
During the luncheon, Tiffany Tarpley, Anchor and Reporter from “Good Morning Cleveland”, emceed our ceremony. Michael Hollins, an accomplished author, speaker and a leader in student-athlete development, inspired students with his motivational speech.
Select winners from YCO will go on to compete at either the State Career Development Conference in Columbus or the National Career Development Conference — hosted by the Jobs for America’s Graduates — in Salt Lake City.
A special thanks to our sponsors, including our Platinum Sponsor, Exit Planning Institute, as well as our volunteers and staff for supporting this special day.
Congratulations to all of our participants!