Cleveland.com: Internship gives voice to Cleveland teens
By Guest columnist, cleveland.com
Guest columnist Allie Levin is the communications specialist at Youth Opportunities Unlimited and a graduate student at Cleveland State University, where she is studying nonprofit management.
“Yass-Cleen!”
This exclamation is often heard from a “Clenager” -- Cleveland teens involved in a media-based internship program -- as a celebratory statement of praise.
Youth Opportunities Unlimited offers a ‘Yass-Cleen’ back at them.
The Clenagers are part of the Y.O.U. internship program, which offers high school sophomores and juniors in Cuyahoga County the opportunity to gain professional skills and hands-on career exploration experience while earning a stipend and networking in a career field of their interest.
Students indicate their desired career interest and Y.O.U. matches them with a mentor in that field.
This year’s Clenagers are Cora, Neema, Camille and James. They are mentored by Shana Black, founder of Black Girl Media.
Black describes Clenagers as “a multi-channel media platform to speak to teens, by teens, for teens.”
They create podcasts, YouTube videos, TikToks, newsletters and other social media posts about content relevant to them. They discuss numerous themes, including mental health, social justice and the process of graduating high school and preparing to go to college.
Cora thinks the content they create is “serious, but also fun.” She finds it important “to get the message out, but also to relate to other youth.”
The Clenagers have used their freedom to navigate new places and meet people all over the city of Cleveland. They attended the NBA crossover game, visited the Cleveland History Center, met radio personality Jimmy Malone at a Pi Day event, learned from the owner of Coco’s Chalky Powder, interviewed Chris Webb from WKYC, discussed water quality with Drink Local Drink Tap and tweeted with experts from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
Cora appreciates Shana’s mentorship style: “Shana does a really great job giving us the tools we need and guidance, but at the end of the day, she steps aside and lets us do our thing. She’s there to watch us grow and be there for support. She just wants to make sure we are safe while we do it.”
Though the Clenagers are in their inaugural year, both mentor and participants look forward to creating a legacy that will be passed down to other Y.O.U. interns.
Next year, when she’s away at college, Cora looks forward to switching from mentee to mentor by visiting the next generation of Clenagers.
“It’s going to be a little sad to step away, but I know I’ll be involved heavily in the next group of teens coming up,” she says. “I hope to leave a little bit of an imprint on them.”
Shana believes it’s more than worthwhile to pursue the Y.O.U. Internship program.
“If you’re thinking about signing up to be a Y.O.U. intern, you should,” she says. “You can be a Clenager, or if you’re considering being a mentor, it’s totally worth it. You’ll enjoy it. The teens are great, and you’ll get some good help too.”