2014 Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program Newsletter Meet Teyana Teyana spent her summer working for a defense attorney in the Law office of Joiner, Ricketts, Andrews & Henry. She has been doing a lot of filing and organizing, but she also has spent some time drafting “requests to the Judge” under the lawyer’s guidance. Teyana, a Nursing Academy at Hartford High graduate, will be attending the University of New Haven in the fall and has a variety of career interests including working for a medical examiner, the Central Intelligence Agency or joining the Air Force. Provider: Urban League of Greater Hartford (ULGH)

Meet Alexsandra Alexsandra spent her summer cleaning, resetting and stocking exhibits and working with children at the Imagine Nation Museum in Bristol. Her classroom experience this summer has taught her about job searching and how to write resumes and cover letters. This is her first summer job. Provider: Bristol Community Organization (BCO)

Meet Micah Micah, a soon to be freshman at Farmington High, spent his summer at Restoring Lives participating in a Tier I work and learn experience. “I hope to learn more about what it takes for me to be in the workplace and go for basic jobs,” he said. Micah said he believes getting the opportunity to participate in the program will benefit him a lot. Micah is interested in exploring careers in geology, engineering and astronomy or space. Provider: Restoring Lives Community Development Corp. (RL)

A Special Thanks to all of the Employers who Funded Intern Positions Every year as funding changes, budgets change, and the student applicant pool fluctuates, the Summer Youth Employment Program must strike a balance to provide as many opportunities as possible. With that said, we’d like to acknowledge the businesses that offer employer-paid positions. Employer-paid work experiences allow the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program to be offered to more students.

To all of the employers who are able to pay their interns’ wages:

Thank you!!!

The Hungerford Center, Kensington, CT Meet Angel Angel spent his summer working for the Hungerford Center in Kensington. Angel did everything from landscaping, painting, raking, creating pathways and learning to operate midsize machinery while at his job. “I’ve been enjoying every day working here,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like work.” Currently, Angel is attending Tunxis Community College for general studies where he is interested in moving into a hands-on career path in either electrochemical machining or health care.

Minuteman Press, Manchester, CT Meet Maliah Maliah, a recent graduate of Manchester High School, spent her summer working at both the Vernon and Manchester Minuteman Press stores this summer. “I’ve been putting in work orders, referring orders between stores and taking phone calls,” she said. Maliah will be attending the University of Hartford for Liberal Arts & Sciences where she will explore both the healthcare field and journalism.

Employer-Paid Manufacturing Positions Peter Paul Electronics, New Britain, CT Meet Dustin Dustin, an E.C. Goodwin Tech graduate is looking forward to attending the New England Institute of Technology in Rhode Island in the fall for game development. He spent his summer at Peter Paul Electronics making computer models. This is Dustin’s first work experience. “I like it. It’s challenging and it is very related to what I want to do now,” he said. “You’ve always got to have a back-up plan and this is something I could see doing.”

Meet Idalis Idalis, a junior at E.C. Goodwin Tech in the Computer-Aided Drafting and Design shop, spent her first summer employment experience at Peter Paul Electronics learning to assemble pieces and observing machinery by performing time study to measure how long it takes the setup person to set up the machine to run production. “Everyone has been so warm and welcoming to me here,” she said. Idalis is looking forward to spending the next school year exploring different career and occupational options for her future.

Bakery on Main, East Hartford, CT Meet Lexia Lexia spent her summer working at Bakery on Main, a granola and oatmeal manufacturer in East Hartford. This is her first paid work experience. She sorted and packed product, cleaned and performed quality control measures. “Having this job has been working out well for me. I love it. I could see myself in manufacturing,” she said. Lexia said that there is a lot of teamwork involved in the sorting, packing and shipping processes. “Everyone has been so nice here,” she said. “I’ve learned that everyone makes mistakes, but you just have learn from them and stay positive.”

Employer-Paid Positions & More Bank of America, Hartford, CT Meet Derron Derron, pictured with his supervisor Lindsay, spent his summer working at the Farmington Avenue branch of Bank of America helping customers with ATM services and helping to improve the flow of customers at the branch. “I learned a lot about credit, banking and community service,” he said. “I also learned a lot about how to manage difficult situations.” Derron plans to attend Manchester Community College before transferring to a four-year institution.

Meet Jennifer Jennifer, pictured with her supervisor Ryan spent her summer working at one of Bank of America’s many branches helping customers with ATM services and improving customer flow at the branch by making sure they could find what they need. Jennifer graduated from Hartford Public High School and hopes to become a beautician and have her own beauty salon.

Meet The Performers at the Artist’s Collective

The interns at the Artist’s Collective spent their summer making costumes, jewelry, practicing dance routines and rehearsing lines in preparation for their greatly anticipated end-of-the-summer showcase. This year’s show “Melodies of the Heart” was about a live action black history museum in Harlem. Provider: Artist’s Collective

Healthcare Interns & More Meet Devon and Monepha – St. Francis Hospital

Devon and Monepha had a rewarding experience at St. Francis’ Mt. Sinai campus, working in the rehabilitation department. Devon greeted incoming patients and families, answered questions and provided directions, while Monepha organized client records. Devon is going into his last year at Hartford High’s Nursing Academy, where Monepha graduated from in May. She will be attending Capital Community College in the fall pursuing a career in the medical field. Employer-Paid Positions- St. Francis Hospital

Meet Justo, Derek, Destini, Leilani, Lucy and Keyshia – Hospital for Special Care

These interns are just a few of the many interns who had the opportunity to learn about the different occupations it takes to run a hospital as they completed their internships at the Hospital for Special Care this summer. The interns performed various functions in many different departments such as the rehabilitation unit, IT, building maintenance and food services. Provider: Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC)

Meet Esther This summer Esther has been performed clerical work at the Manchester Water Department. Esther has actually had quite a few work experiences, in industries including manufacturing, agriculture, retail and food service. “The most important things I’ve learned from working are patience and communication,” she said. Provider: Capitol Region Education Council (CREC)

More Stories from this Summer Meet Kayla Kayla spent her summer organizing paperwork and doing activities with the children at the Hartford Friendship Kids’ Camp. This isn’t Kayla’s first work experience. She has been a waitress and a cashier prior to this summer. The Hartford Friendship Kids’ Camp has worked with Kayla before and requested her back for another summer. “Working has taught me responsibility, time management and to be respectful to management and your co-workers,” she said. Kayla attends Praise, Power and Prayer School in Windsor. After high school, she is interested in becoming a physical therapist. Provider: Blue Hills Civic Association (BHCA)

Meet Jonna Jonna had her first work experience this summer at Asnuntuck Community College doing office administrative work such as filing, organizing and helping students get their transcripts. “The people here are really nice to me,” she said. Jonna attends Enrico Fermi High School, in Enfield and is interested in attending art and business classes at Asnuntuck. Provider: Capitol Region Education Council (CREC)

Meet Brandon Brandon, a North West Catholic student said, “I’m working together with people who I don’t know, a lot.” Brandon hopes that the work readiness skills that he is learning from this program will help him get into the career he wants. “This program is a good opportunity for workforce skills,” said Brandon. Provider: Community Renewal Team (CRT)

More Stories from this Summer Meet Marcus Marcus spent his summer working at the Pitkat Congregate Living Center and assisted living center in Vernon. This is his first work experience. He particularly enjoyed the opportunity he had to spend time in the kitchen. “They allowed me to make my own entrée and the residents loved it,” he said. This experience has expanded his interest in culinary arts. Marcus has also had experience working with cars, so he is exploring the ideas of going to either Lincoln Tech for automotive studies or Manchester Community College for culinary arts. Provider: Capitol Region Education Council (CREC)

Meet Aleena Aleena spent her summer organizing stock and helping customers at Burlington Coat Factory in Bloomfield. Aleena, from Hartford, attends East Granby High School and is continuing to explore many different career options. Provider: Our Piece of the Pie (OPP)

Meet the Entrepreneurial Interns from the YWCA New Britain

These students spent their summer doing some career exploration, working on their career competencies and learning what it takes to conceptualize, own and run a business. Using Junior Achievement curriculum and tools, the interns were asked to come up with a plan to fund and run a teen center. Then each group was expected to present their teen center plans to outside judges who were brought in. Provider: YWCA of New Britain

More Stories from this Summer Meet Dajanay

Meet Nastalla and Jakari

Provider: Center for Latino Progress (CLP)

Provider: Pathways Senderos

Meet Frank, Justin & Stephanie (left to right)

These interns spent their summer working at CW Resources packaging food for the local Meals on Wheels program. They’ve done everything from food preparation to food packaging and delivery coordination. Provider: Human Resources Agency of New Britain (HRA)

On behalf of the youth of North Central Connecticut, Capital Workforce Partners would like to thank the following funders: The State of Connecticut/Connecticut Dept. of Labor Connecticut Dept. of Children and Families The City of Hartford Hartford Foundation for Public Giving The American Savings Foundation and other Generous Donors for making these summer experiences possible!

www.capitalworkforce.org