For the momentous occasion of Bridge to Employment's 30th anniversary, FHI 360 conducted 30 interviews—with BTE founders, J&J staff, BTE site coordinators, partners, and alumni—representing a dozen sites across the world. Piecing these interviews along the initiative’s 30-year timeline, we captured 30 years of building partnerships, transforming communities, and empowering youth. The oral history technique allowed participants to (literally) tell stories in their own words about their BTE experience. As evaluators, we asked a few guiding questions but primarily encouraged participants to share stories and examples. After the data collection phase, we identified six general themes and organized participant quotes under each theme. Rather than analyzing and paraphrasing their sentiments, we kept quotes intact—presenting them to the reader to illustrate the themes. The oral history method allows for a rich immersion into BTE at various points of its 30-year timeline.
