PEEKE Internship provides workplace experience to teens!
PEEKE Participant Kionna
Meet Kionna, an intern at Heights Library through our PEEKE (Partnerships, Exploration, Experience, Knowledge and Excellence) Internship Program. A senior at Lutheran East High School , Kionna has gained hands-on workplace experience through her opportunity at the library.
The intern recently took over Heights Library’s Instagram account to provide an inside perspective of her experience. Kionna has been active in assisting with planning and preparations for the Library’s foundation fundraiser, utilizing her graphic design skills to make signs for the auction items. She will attend the dinner on November 10 to assist with many other tasks.
Additionally Kionna has helped reconcile a budget for the Coventry School Building. Her ongoing project includes writing an article about her experience at the library, for which she has had to interview several staff members. She assists with the library’s Greater Cleveland Foodbank Food Pantry, lending a hand where it is needed. She has even attended a number of business meetings, including a library Board of Trustees meeting.
“Kionna has been very impactful in taking the burden off of me for the dinner and seeing the work of the library through a young person's eyes…and she has been astonished by all we do,” said Heights Library Director Nancy Levin.
The PEEKE program is geared toward high school juniors who maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher, live in Cuyahoga County, and wish to learn more about one of their potential career interests and gain professional work experience. Upon acceptance students attend a series of professional skills-training sessions to help them prepare. They then complete a 180-hour internship, which will allow them to explore a career path that may be of interest.
Like Kionna, PEEKE participants round out their experience by completing additional professional training during the fall semester of their senior year. Those who complete the program may be eligible for an OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal, which signifies to Northeast Ohio employers the student is prepared to successfully contribute to the workplace and community.