Student Summer Jobs 2016
This summer, our students had the opportunity to engage in various work programs, while continuing their studies. Through the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) and other partnerships, Maya students earned while they learned!
At the YALC, a group of students nearing the completion of the GED program were chosen for paid internships. Students worked in the morning and attended classes in the afternoon, which offered a mix of academic, workforce, and life skills development.
Seeds for Success students took part in a beautification project, a part of their on-going program with Department of Public Works and Department of Employment Services. Each day, students were taken to a different green space to work on cleaning and landscaping those areas.
Additionally, two students from our HBI program, Vincent B. and Tayvon M., worked on a unique building project at the UDC East Capital Urban Farm. Under the management of YALC HBI Instructor, Kerry Harrington, students built a classroom and office space for the community garden to use during the coming years. The garden sits a few blocks from the school, and with the new classroom, it will surely serve as a great resource for the entire community, thanks, in part, to our student workers!
Metro was another place where YALC students shined this summer. A recent graduate, Myla R., interned with WMATA, where she assigned to the communications team and worked on social media strategy and increasing engagement on all major platforms. Myla’s hard work earned her Youth of the Summer Award and an extension of her internship through November! Notably, Takayla F., a current MAPCS and HBI student, also participated in a summer internship at Metro, assisting a senior project manager at the Landover office.
Courtney Wright, YALC Post Secondary Coordinator, views this summer as a success and plans to expand the programs in the future. “Seeing students reflect upon what they learned during the afternoon session, and then applying their knowledge to their morning work, is creating a path for our students to have a more successful school year.”
Things were pretty busy at the High School, too. Students were engaged in work-learn activities through DC’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), for which MAPCS served as a host site. The SYEP project was called Summer Bridge 1…2…3. With Mary Okowi, Career Academy Coordinator, at the helm, students learned skills ranging from resume writing to time management. Students worked at the school in the morning, where the program was structured like a real job. They were expected to clock in and out during work hours and report to their respective supervisor. The students then attended classes during the afternoon, where they prepared for the new year or caught up with work from the past semester.
And, it wouldn’t be summer without a little a break! The Summer Bridge program also offered students weekly trips to different colleges and work sites. A visit to the UTZ chips factory in Pennsylvania was the highlight for many students. They learned about opportunities in the food and beverage industry and even got a chance to sample the product. Ms. Okowi feels that this summer’s offering helped students understand what to expect when they enter the workforce. She reflected, “students who took the Summer Bridge Program seriously showed noticeable gains in their confidence, maturity, and time management skills.”
–Alessandra Dreyer