Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s Youth Summer Internship Program

Aug 22

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This summer marked the first internship with the City of Cleveland dubbed Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s Youth Summer Internship Program. Our long-lasting partnership with the city of Cleveland led to the inaugural six week internship where 11 students were placed in various city departments for career exploration. Most of the experiences were aligned with the youth’s career interests and post-secondary education goals. The program enabled youth to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom and pre-attended internship workshops to a professional work environment.

The internship was designed to enhance each youth’s academic and social/emotional development. Interns learned career-specific standards from the Career Technical Education Consortium’s Common Career Technical Core (CCTC) and professional skills through their Career Ready Practices (CRP).

The group presented culminating capstone presentations at Public Auditorium expounding upon their experience and what they learned. Tracy Martin-Thompson, Chief of Prevention, Intervention, and Opportunity for Youth and Young Adults for the City of Cleveland, worked diligently with our team to organize this program. “Our young people greatly benefited from this rich and meaningful experience,” she said. “The program was a tremendous success! I want to especially thank the team from Y.O.U. for their hard work and commitment to this endeavor,” she added.

Lutheran East Student, Tyra served in the City of Cleveland’s Human Resources Department. She explained that her experience was worthwhile. “This was my first job, and I was exposed to so much professionally,” she said. “After this internship, I have something to look forward to, I have more goals now,” she added.

The City of Cleveland’s goal for the internship program was twofold: to expose young people to professional opportunities and to teach them that a career in public service is a fulfilling path. Maybe some of them will come back and work for the city in the future.