The young woman was born and raised inside Ramacrisna and had her first professional experience as an apprentice.

“I am part of Ramacrisna’s history and Ramacrisna is my entire history.” This is how Lorena Vitória Alves da Costa sums up her history with the Institute. Her career had already been impacted by Ramacrisna, but a position as a young apprentice showed her full professional potential.

More than just a place of work, Ramacrisna has been part of her family’s history for generations – and it was the starting point for Lorena to build a decent future with effort, support and a lot of dedication.

Childhood at Ramacrisna

Lorena’s story begins even before she was born. That’s because her maternal grandparents lived in a house provided by Ramacrisna, on the site where Cercas Ramacrisna now operates. There, they raised five children, including Lorena’s mother, and cultivated a vegetable garden that supplied the institution’s cafeteria. In addition, the family raised pigs and cows, generating extra income from the sale of meat and milk. It was a simple life, but one sustained by hard work and mutual support.

In 2001, when Lorena was born, the family’s connection with the Institute was already strong: her relatives worked in different sectors such as the kitchen, pasta production and the canvas factory. “I can say that I’ve known Ramacrisna since 2001 through my family,” she said.

At the age of 11, Lorena began her own career within the institution, as a member of the Ramacrisna Philharmonic Orchestra, where she remained until 2016. At the same time, Lorena also took a vocational course in car mechanics.

But that’s not all: she took the Young People of the Future course, which prepares teenagers for the job market. And it was precisely through the training program that a position as a young apprentice came up.

So, in October 2018, at the age of 17, she was hired as an Administrative Assistant Apprentice, working in Ramacrisna’s own apprentice sector. At 18, she was hired as an Office Assistant. With this opportunity, she not only began her professional life, but also discovered a vocation for the administrative area.

Obstacles, breaks and new beginnings

In 2020, Lorena entered the Logistics course, but had to interrupt her studies for personal reasons. The following year, she left Ramacrisna and faced the job market in different areas: sales, customer service and logistics. In 2022, she returned to Betim and, shortly afterwards, discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant.

“I never imagined myself being a mother without a university degree or a registered job, but today I see that being a mother also motivates me to be better every day,” she confessed. Even during her pregnancy, she didn’t stop working. And in August 2023, she had another opportunity at Ramacrisna: she returned to work in the administrative sector and resumed her studies, now in the Management Processes course.

Reconciling these three fronts requires focus and resilience. Lorena doesn’t hide the difficulties, but she doesn’t let them define her either. “It’s not easy, but it shows me that giving up is not an option,” she said. Being a mother has further increased her desire to win, gain independence and set the best possible example for her son.

From an early age, Lorena showed an entrepreneurial spirit: at 12, she was looking after children; at 15, she was cleaning houses; at 16, she was tutoring students for R$10 a month. “I never liked begging. I always understood our difficulties and wanted to achieve things for myself,” she said.

Young apprenticeship was a seed that blossomed

The chance to become a young apprentice was the turning point in Lorena’s career. It was at Ramacrisna that she had her first contact with the world of work, learned computers, organization, communication and gained confidence. “I didn’t have access to a computer before. Everything I know in the administrative sector I learned at Ramacrisna,” she said gratefully.

As well as the training, she found a welcoming, green, beautiful and inspiring environment. “Ramacrisna is cozy. I feel at home,” she added.

Today, Lorena works in the same sector where she began her journey, accompanying new teenagers who, like her, are looking for their first professional chance. “I’m a little piece, a little push in the professional lives of many young people,” she said.

More than a story of overcoming, Lorena represents the realization of a collective dream: that more young people can have access to a young apprentice position as a path to personal, professional and social development.

Want to know more about how Ramacrisna transforms lives with its young apprentice program? Get in touch and ask any questions you may have.