Meet Joseph Franklin | 2020 YPAL Award Winner

Meet 2020 YPAL Award Winner, Joseph!

Joseph Franklin

YPAL Member since: 2019

Hometown: Chicago

Where do you work?: TEKsystems

Tell us why you believe you should be a YPAL Award winner?
I believe I should be a YPAL Winner because I am committed to being a model professional that spends a great deal of my leisure time immersing myself into uplifting activities within the various communities that encompass the city of Louisville. Within these communities, I am able to draw synergies and use that information to promote cross-functional collaboration that ultimately helps the citizens of Louisville identify greater access to opportunity. The passion I pour into the communities ultimately helps me positively impact the Louisville workforce.

How do you seek life-long learning through developing others and yourself?
I seek life-long learning through the development of others and myself by ensuring that every day I affirm that, today is a day I can help someone while working to better my skills / gain a new perspective. I genuinely have a give first mentality and affords me an opportunity to receive valuable information / life-skills from others that aid me in my efforts to bridge the inter-communal divide. I have shown this the best on the experiential front as I challenge myself to consistently live in areas of discomfort. I constantly place myself in rooms/communities that give me a new perspective and when I understand that others can benefit from those rooms, I am sure to establish connections – which aids others in personal development

Why do you love Louisville?
As a proud (born and raised) Chicagoan, I am more proud to call Louisville my home as this is the home that I chose. The city has so many great people and so much to offer the world. I love the rich history, I love the city infrastructure, I love the beautiful balance of metropolitan traits and nature traits, I love the amazing restaurants and brands that come from here, I love the economic opportunity, and geographic positioning. I love the fact that I can vehemently tell others that if they don’t know about Louisville, Kentucky then they are missing definitely missing out on an experience. I have firsthand witnessed so many people from cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, state they don’t want to live anywhere else and often they are subjected to a lesser-quality of life due to the cultural impact. I am here to show those people and others that they need to have more perspective when determining their love for a city. Louisville has been such a blessing and I will continue to broadcast that message and the amazing benefits of living here. It’s just a great quality of life.