Discovering New Passions with Stretch@KP
Juan Aguilar’s Story
Juan Aguilar is a long-time employee of KP, who first came to work for Kaiser through an internship. He then joined the Multimedia Communications group and worked his way through the ranks as Production Coordinator, Producer, Graphics, and Web Developer. He moved to Procurement Supply and currently works in the Finance department as a Web Performance III - also known as the self-proclaimed “Multi-Medium”. He first heard about Stretch@KP at a Finance and Shared Services all hands meeting in 2018.
A former colleague asked him to interview for a project that included improving a website and making it more interactive. Juan joined the project and started working with the RealTime team. RealTime is a KP pilot program that connects employees to opportunities that support community-based organizations, where they can utilize their skills for good. He also worked on “passion projects” such as photography for their events and podcasts. “The best part of Stretch@KP was being able to select interest-based assignments and choosing what I wanted to work on,” says Juan.”
It benefited me personally by providing an opportunity to network with a new group of fun people that I would have not worked with otherwise.
Enthusiastic about being able to get out into the community more, Juan learned how non-profits ran and about the resources they needed most. During his project, Juan sparked an interest he didn’t even know existed! “Through my Stretch@KP participation I discovered a passion about learning more about non-profits and was able to contribute my years of knowledge to help them and make a real impact on the communities we serve. It also benefited me personally by providing an opportunity to network with a new group of fun people that I would have not worked with otherwise.”
“I’ve been with Kaiser over 25 years and I was still able to learn new technologies and new ways of working as a result of my participation,” says Juan. “I used to think Stretch@KP was focused on people early in their career, but I now realize that those later in their careers can explore new interests, discover new passions, and share their expertise to help achieve outcomes.” Another advantage Juan credits to Stretch@KP is opening up new means of interacting with different people from diverse regions and working with varying age groups.
Stretch@KP allows people, at any level, the chance to give something back to the communities we serve.
Grateful that Kaiser is so invested in its workforce with programs like this one, Juan recommends Stretch@KP for any employee who is passionate about fulfilling KP’s mission. It allows people, at any level, the chance to give something back to the communities we serve. It can provide an opportunity to mentor and build on existing experience and capabilities, which will make a difference to the people around you. It also allows you to develop new skills and find passions that you might not even know you have!