Jose Perez
Jose Perez is a Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program
(SYELP) intern stationed at Ebony Horsewomen. Ebony Horsewomen is an
organization that helps empower youth towards successful lives through Equine
Assisted Therapy. Jose has worked with Ebony Horsewomen since Project Ready’s
In School Youth Employment and Learning Program. Jose is 17 years old and will
be entering his senior year at Hartford Public High School in the fall.
Interviewed by Xavier Arriaga, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Interviewed by Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern & Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern
Knae Paw
Capital Community College.
Hartford Public High School, Academy of Engineering and
Green Technology
Jose Perez is a Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program
(SYELP) intern stationed at Ebony Horsewomen. Ebony Horsewomen is an
organization that helps empower youth towards successful lives through Equine
Assisted Therapy. Jose has worked with Ebony Horsewomen since Project Ready’s
In School Youth Employment and Learning Program. Jose is 17 years old and will
be entering his senior year at Hartford Public High School in the fall.
My first question to Jose was what he would like to be when
he becomes an adult. He said he would like to be a veterinarian or animal
caretaker. I then asked how he thinks participating in SYELP will help you
become a better worker, he said since joining the program and working at Ebony
Horsewomen, he has changed his future career from engineering or landscaping to
veterinarian or animal caretaker. “The environment that I have been working in
has persuaded me to pursue a career with a similar field.” Skills Jose has
gained since working at Ebony Horsewomen are how to take care and manage a
horse. What excites Jose about working at this location are the horses
and the people he works with.
Jose’s strengths are that he is a team player and he excels
at physical labor. His weakness is that he is shy and he overcomes the fear by
preparing (for this interview, for example) and being more open.
I then asked Jose what I believe is a very fitting question:
what type of animal he would like to be and why. He said he would like to be a
tiger (which caught me off guard) because they look amazing. I asked Jose if he
would be able to change anything in the community of Hartford what would it be,
he said he would like to change the environment so that it can be a more
green and healthy place to be in. I then asked him what empowers him he said
“being surrounded and meeting new people.”
My final question to Jose if he would consider coming back
to SYELP, and he said “Yes, I love it.”
Miguel Rivera
Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy
Miguel Rivera is an intern at the Trash Museum. Miguel is
16, and will be in the 11th grade at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy
this fall. The career Miguel wants when he becomes an adult is a
Electrician or a contractor.
Miguel thinks that participating in SYELP will help him
prepare himself for the work world. Miguel’s strengths are that he has a great
memory and is well organized. Miguel’s weaknesses are his concentration skills;
the way he overcomes his weakness is by calming himself down and focusing on
what needs to be done. Miguel says the skills he learned while working at the
Trash Museum is patience and working with children. Things that excites Miguel
about the job is to get experience in the work field. Miguel says yes he will
come back because it’s a great opportunity to maintain a job. What empowers
Miguel is independence.
Interviewed by Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern & Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern
Knae Paw
Capital Community College.
Knae Paw is an 18 year-old freshman at Capital Community College. She wants to be a nurse or work in an office when she gets older.
Knae thinks participating in the SYELP will help her gain experience in the workforce. I asked Knae what her strengths and weaknesses were. She told me her strengths were her organizational skills and her weaknesses were pronouncing products. She overcomes her weaknesses by learning new names of the products every day. One skill Knae has obtained while working at CVS were customer service skills. Things that excite Knae about the job are certain days where she can sit back and look over the store and not have to organize the products all day! Knae-Paw decided to work at SYELP so she can gain more experience and buy herself things she likes. She isn’t sure whether she wants to participate in the SYELP next summer because she wants to find a part time job.
I asked Knae Paw what empowers her and she said “My family empowers me to support them and be independent and successful”
Interviewed by Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern and Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Johnathan Villegas
Hartford Public High School, Law and Government AcademyKnae thinks participating in the SYELP will help her gain experience in the workforce. I asked Knae what her strengths and weaknesses were. She told me her strengths were her organizational skills and her weaknesses were pronouncing products. She overcomes her weaknesses by learning new names of the products every day. One skill Knae has obtained while working at CVS were customer service skills. Things that excite Knae about the job are certain days where she can sit back and look over the store and not have to organize the products all day! Knae-Paw decided to work at SYELP so she can gain more experience and buy herself things she likes. She isn’t sure whether she wants to participate in the SYELP next summer because she wants to find a part time job.
I asked Knae Paw what empowers her and she said “My family empowers me to support them and be independent and successful”
Interviewed by Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern and Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Johnathan Villegas
The kind of career Johnathan wants to have when he becomes an adult is a Paleontologist (scientist who studies fossils) . Johnathan thinks that participating in SYELP will help him become a better worker because it will give him job readiness skills and help him adapt to a learning environment. Johnathan’s strengths are his perfect communication skills, and when he’s told to do something he gets it done. Johnathan’s weakness are his computer skills; the way he overcomes his weakness is by seeking help from his peers. Johnathan says the skills he learned at the Trash Museum are printing skills and communication skills. Things that excite Johnathan about the job are the people there and when he helps the children. Johnathan says yes he would come back to the SYELP because he needs to be occupied and he can gain experience for when he goes in the real world.
What empowers Johnathan is his family.
Interviewed by Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern & Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern
Jaznay Davenport
Worcester State University
Jaznay Davenport is an intern at the Marriott Hotel Downtown. Jaznay is 19, and will be a freshmen in college at Worcester State University this fall. The career Jaznay wants when she is an adult is to be an Occupational Therapist or a Biotechnician. An OT is someone who helps people that have physical and mental problems with daily skills such as bathing, eating, dressing and working. A Biotechnician is someone who studies living organisms.
Jaznay thinks that participating in SYELP will help her with job readiness skills and also adapt to a learning environment. Jaznay’s strengths are working well with other people. Jaznay’s weakness is not being productive; the way she overcomes her weakness is by trying to find ways to strengthen them. Jaznay says the skills she has obtained while working at the Marriott are social skills, cleaning skills, and punctuality. Jaznay enjoys getting to socialize with all the guests. Jaznay says that she will come back to the SYELP because it’s a great experience and it looks good on her resume. What empowers Jaznay is success.
Interviewed by Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern & Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern
Nashana McHaney
Jaznay Davenport
Worcester State University
Jaznay Davenport is an intern at the Marriott Hotel Downtown. Jaznay is 19, and will be a freshmen in college at Worcester State University this fall. The career Jaznay wants when she is an adult is to be an Occupational Therapist or a Biotechnician. An OT is someone who helps people that have physical and mental problems with daily skills such as bathing, eating, dressing and working. A Biotechnician is someone who studies living organisms.
Jaznay thinks that participating in SYELP will help her with job readiness skills and also adapt to a learning environment. Jaznay’s strengths are working well with other people. Jaznay’s weakness is not being productive; the way she overcomes her weakness is by trying to find ways to strengthen them. Jaznay says the skills she has obtained while working at the Marriott are social skills, cleaning skills, and punctuality. Jaznay enjoys getting to socialize with all the guests. Jaznay says that she will come back to the SYELP because it’s a great experience and it looks good on her resume. What empowers Jaznay is success.
Interviewed by Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern & Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern
Nashana McHaney
Manchester Community College
We interviewed Nashana McHaney; her job site is the CVS on
Farmington Ave. Nashana is 20 years old and will be going to MCC in the fall.
The job Nashana wants to have is a Bank Teller.
She’s been with the Our Piece of the Pie for five years and
she has learned how to be a retail, cashiering, and customer service. Nashana’s
strengths are being a good communicator, giving good advice, and being
reliable. The skill that she has obtained while working at CVS is being more
organized. What excites her about her job is meeting new people everyday, and
helping out. The reason why Nashana decided to work with the OPP program was
because she could build a new resume and have new experiences. Yes, she would
like to come back to the OPP because they could place her in another position,
and she would like to be a counselor.
What empowers Nashana is her family.
Interviewed by Gellymar Rivera, Project Ready MYF Intern and Ana Rosario, Project
Ready SYELP Intern
Jazzmin Mitchell
Ebony Horsewomen, Inc.
Jazzmin Mitchell is the supervisor of the counselors at Ebony Horsewomen Inc. She has been working there for 4 years now and she loves every moment of it each and every day, she loves coming into work and working with her kids “They give me life,” Jazzmin said.
Her first job was actually at Ebony Horsewomen. The first day she was introduced to everyone by Ms. Kelly, the CEO of the organization. The skills she learned were leadership skills and how to help kids with disabilities and behavioral issues. Jazzmin worked for the organization because she was already with the Urban League, and also she wanted to pursue her interest in early child development. Jazzmin said she enjoys her job, she loves working with kids, “We really become a family and we look out for each other here, there’s no negative behavior we push each other to do the best we can.” Jazzmin expresses her love for the children by saying her favorite part about working at Ebony Horsewomen Inc. are the children, they amaze her by how much they accomplish in one day. “They’re also very funny, and they entertain me every day, I don’t consider them workers, I consider them family,” she exclaimed.
When I asked Ms. Mitchell “Why do you like working for this community?” she replied “I like giving people the benefit of the doubt, giving people opportunities. You know people outside of Hartford think that the kids on the North End are ‘hood’ or we are illiterate, so I’m here to represent, and show that not only are we educated, we are able to get good jobs and work in higher positions possible in the working industries.” Jazzmin is empowered by her kids, she loves seeing her kids thrive to be the best that they can be, especially children from the North End.
Interviewed by Amanda Edwards, Project Ready SYELP Intern.
Desmariah Rosa
Two Rivers High School
Desmariah Rosa is a 16 year old high school student currently attending Two Rivers High School. Her life goal is to become a caretaker for children and educate them, organize play-time activities, and assist them in their everyday needs.
Desmariah is currently an intern for Ebony Horsewomen. Her job consist of organizing activities, helping children prepare for lessons, and counseling them. While working she has improved her communication skills and she has become more responsible.
She decided to work with the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program for the work experience and skill improvement. Desmariah is empowered by her friends and family. She is enjoying her time at her new internship and is very thankful for the opportunity to work with kids.
Desmariah Rosa is a 16 year old high school student currently attending Two Rivers High School. Her life goal is to become a caretaker for children and educate them, organize play-time activities, and assist them in their everyday needs.
Desmariah is currently an intern for Ebony Horsewomen. Her job consist of organizing activities, helping children prepare for lessons, and counseling them. While working she has improved her communication skills and she has become more responsible.
She decided to work with the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program for the work experience and skill improvement. Desmariah is empowered by her friends and family. She is enjoying her time at her new internship and is very thankful for the opportunity to work with kids.
Interviewed by Ana Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern & Gellymar Rivera, Project Ready MYF Intern.
Gabriela Hernandez Alvarado
Bulkeley High School
We interviewed Gabriela Hernandez; her jobsite is at Ebony
Horsewomen. Gabriela is 17 years old and will be attending 12th grade in the
fall. The school Gabriela goes to is Bulkeley High School. Gabriela is still
deciding on what job she'd like to do when she’s an adult.
Participating in the SYELP helps her to be better with
working with kids, and she enjoys it. Gabriela’s strengths are baking, being on
time, and working with kids. The skill that Gabriela has obtained while working
here is, how to deal with kids. What excites her about her job is that she gets
to help around the horses’ area, and counsel the kids who work there.
She decided to work at SYELP because she thought she could
have the opportunity to work with kids and be a counselor. Yes, Gabriela will
consider coming back to SYELP next summer, because it will help her a lot more
along the way. What empowers Gabriela is her family and success.
Interviewed by Ana Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern & Gellymar Rivera, Project Ready MYF Intern.
Marrai Roberts
Marrai is 15 year old and when returning to school in the fall she will be in the 9th grade at High School Inc. She is a part of the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program, she is also an intern at It’s A Gee Thang barber shop.
During her interview we discussed a couple of goals that she is interested in pertaining to her career. Her main goal and passion is to become a social worker because she is a people person and believes that helping people will contribute to making the world a better place.
The main point of the interview was to find out why working with SYELP will help Marrai become a better worker, give and her job experience.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and Marrai’s weakness happens to be being impatient and she does not like to be told what to do. With her experience working and her supervisor’s help, Marrai has managed to get a little more patient with people and to be more responsible. A hard thing for most teens to deal with is being comfortable in a new setting with new people. Marrai has obtained these skills by keeping herself busy and interacting with new people. The things that excites her about the job is doing hair and answering the phone for the shop.
She decided to work for the SYELP so she can gain working experience. She would tell her peers about SYELP so they can experience the working world too. Something that empowers Marrai is hard work and with more work experience she wants to get better at what she doing.
She decided to work for the SYELP so she can gain working experience. She would tell her peers about SYELP so they can experience the working world too. Something that empowers Marrai is hard work and with more work experience she wants to get better at what she doing.
Interviewed by Tahari Thompson and Shoaib Williams, Project
Ready MYF Interns
Amari James
Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts
Amari is 15 and when she returns to school in the fall she will be in the 10th grade at Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. She is a part of the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program and an intern at Percy Auto Body on 247 Walnut St.
Amari is not sure what job she would like to have when she an adult, so this is a time to give her work experience so that she can plan for the future. Participating in the Manger future will help her be a better worker because it gives her work experience.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and her weakness is communication. Amari’s strength is keeping track of things such as messages and other people’s time sheets. One skill Amari has obtained while working is time management.
The things that excite her about the job is helping people. Something that empowers Amari is working more and gaining work experience.
Interviewed by Tahari Thompson and Shoaib Williams, Project Ready MYF Interns
Carly Gotay
HALO
Carly Gotay is a 17 year old intern at Ikasa Furniture and Mattress. Carly goes to HALO School and will be entering 12th grade this fall. When he is an adult he would like to be a rapper.
Carly thinks participating in the SYELP will teach him about the work field. His strengths at work are making flyers on Photoshop and his weaknesses are getting tired. He said he overcomes his weaknesses by drinking coffee. The skills he has obtained while working at Ikasa are staying awake and not being lazy. Things that excite Carly about the job is the money.
He decided to work at the SYELP because he didn’t have a job. Carly considers coming back to the SYELP so he can get a job again.
Interviewed by Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern and Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Tyell Jones
East Hartford MiddleAmari is not sure what job she would like to have when she an adult, so this is a time to give her work experience so that she can plan for the future. Participating in the Manger future will help her be a better worker because it gives her work experience.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and her weakness is communication. Amari’s strength is keeping track of things such as messages and other people’s time sheets. One skill Amari has obtained while working is time management.
The things that excite her about the job is helping people. Something that empowers Amari is working more and gaining work experience.
Interviewed by Tahari Thompson and Shoaib Williams, Project Ready MYF Interns
Carly Gotay
HALO
Carly thinks participating in the SYELP will teach him about the work field. His strengths at work are making flyers on Photoshop and his weaknesses are getting tired. He said he overcomes his weaknesses by drinking coffee. The skills he has obtained while working at Ikasa are staying awake and not being lazy. Things that excite Carly about the job is the money.
He decided to work at the SYELP because he didn’t have a job. Carly considers coming back to the SYELP so he can get a job again.
Interviewed by Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern and Tyshawn Walker, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Tyell Jones
Tyell is 11 years old, he works at It’s A Gee Thang on 2012 Main St, and when returning to school in the fall he will be in the 6th grade at East Hartford Middle. A job Tyell would like to have when he an adult is to be a basketball player.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and his strengths include being a leader and being patient so he uses a stress ball to help him. A skill that Tyell has obtained while working is how to cooperate. The things that excites him about the job is meeting new people .
Interviewed by Tahari Thompson and Shoaib Williams, Project Ready MYF Interns
Jacquelyn Griffin
We interviewed an intern from SYELP who works at the Enrichment Program at Martin Luther King Jr School. Jacquelyn Griffin is 15 year old girl that attends Classical Magnet School. Her future career goal is to become a Child Psychologist.
Jacquelyn is participating in the SYELP so she can get to know the kids better and how they think.The skill that Jacquelyn has obtained while working at the Enrichment Program at Martin Luther King Jr School is working well with others.The thing that excites Jacquelyn is working with the children because she loves to take care of them and also teach them skills.
What empowers Jacquelyn is her inspirations and belief in anything she does.
Interviewed by Nushawn Clarke, Project Ready SYELP Intern and Shoaib Williams, Project Ready, MYF Interns
Manny Diaz
Assistant Supervisor, Gurabo Auto Body
Manny Diaz is 14 years old and he works at Gurabo Auto Body. Manny will entering the 9th grade in the fall at Connecticut River Academy. Manny wants to become a mechanic when he is an adult. His strength is changing car tires but his weakness, that he is working hard to overcome while working for Gurabo, is fixing cars. He is learning how to fix different kind of cars like Hondas and Nissans. He is working there to to gain more skills and knowledge to achieve his goal of becoming a mechanic. The thing that most excites him is meeting new people everyday. What empowers Manny is helping people.
Interviewed by Shoaib Williams, Project Ready MYF Intern and Nushawn Clarke, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Natasha Ruiz
Hartford Public High School, Law and Government Academy
My first question to Natasha was what would she like to become when she is an adult. She said that she would like to become an Actuary. Actuaries are business professionals who analyze financial cost of risks and uncertainty; they are essential in the insurance industry. She also had interest in becoming a mathematics teacher as she enjoys working with kids.
I then asked her how she thinks participating in SYELP will help her be a better worker. She said “for the couple of months that I’ve been working here it’s been awesome, I feel like it has helped me grow and prosper in many different ways. It has helped me experience new things which will help me build my career.” Since she has worked with Project Ready since her freshman year, I asked her how much does she believe she has grown since then. She said that she has improved tremendously on her communication skills since then.
While working at UBS, she gained skills in phone etiquette, using a new invoicing system established by UBS, using office equipment (printers, scanners, etc.), archiving files, and paying attention to detail. All skills that she uses to do her job effectively. I asked her what excites her about her job she said “what excites me is not knowing what's going to happen next. The anticipation to get new work and new challenges.”
Natasha’s strengths are that she is able to motivate herself and others, and she is very reliable. Her weakness is that she does not know when to say no which can lead her to take on lots of work but she said she always finds a way to complete all of it.
I asked her why did she decide to work at the Summer Youth Employment & Learning program and she said that it wasn't about the money, she felt it would be an awesome experience and she was going to be challenged. I then asked her if she wouldn't join the program again, it was almost clear that it would be a yes as she seemed to love this program tremendously.
On top of being a part of Project Ready, Natasha was also a participant in the National Urban League’s 6th annual Case Competition, where the Urban League of Greater Hartford placed 3rd nationwide.
I asked Natasha if she had a microphone and the whole world can hear her, what would you say. She responded “America needs to continue to strive towards prosperity. We cannot get anywhere with laziness, we need to work hard.” For my final question I asked her what empowers her. She said that she was self-motivated, “you can’t really depend on people to empower you, you need to find what motivates you and get it.”
Interviewed by Xavier Arriaga, Project Ready SYELP Intern.
Tamara Robinson
Capital Community College
Tamara Robinson is 18 years old, and a recent high school graduate. She will be attending Capital Community College fall 2014. Tamara’s dream job is to become an Ultrasound Technician, which is someone who examines people using sound waves to create images of the insides of their organs.
She is currently an intern for the CVS located on Farmington Ave. Her job consist of stocking and organizing the merchandise. She has been in the SYELP for a few years, but CVS is her first time working in customer service. She has learn many skills since she has participated in the SYELP. Tamara is empowered by success and is looking forward to coming back.
Interviewed by Gellymar Rivera, Project Ready MYF Intern & Ana Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Kourtney White
Tamara Robinson is 18 years old, and a recent high school graduate. She will be attending Capital Community College fall 2014. Tamara’s dream job is to become an Ultrasound Technician, which is someone who examines people using sound waves to create images of the insides of their organs.
She is currently an intern for the CVS located on Farmington Ave. Her job consist of stocking and organizing the merchandise. She has been in the SYELP for a few years, but CVS is her first time working in customer service. She has learn many skills since she has participated in the SYELP. Tamara is empowered by success and is looking forward to coming back.
Interviewed by Gellymar Rivera, Project Ready MYF Intern & Ana Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Kourtney White
Engineering and Green Technology At Hartford Public High School
Kourtney White is an 18 year old high school student currently attending Engineering and Green Technology at Hartford Public High School. One of her life goals is to become a Registered Nurse.
Kourtney is an intern at the CVS located at Farmington Ave. Her job consist of stocking and organizing the merchandise. While working at CVS she has improved her customer service skills and gained communication skills.
Kourtney decided to work at the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program for the work experience. She is empowered by her daughter, who means a lot to her and is the most important person in her life. She is enjoying her time at her new internship and is looking forward to SYEP 2015.
Interviewed by Gellymar Rivera, Project Ready MYF Intern & Ana Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Hsa Soe
Kourtney White is an 18 year old high school student currently attending Engineering and Green Technology at Hartford Public High School. One of her life goals is to become a Registered Nurse.
Kourtney is an intern at the CVS located at Farmington Ave. Her job consist of stocking and organizing the merchandise. While working at CVS she has improved her customer service skills and gained communication skills.
Kourtney decided to work at the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program for the work experience. She is empowered by her daughter, who means a lot to her and is the most important person in her life. She is enjoying her time at her new internship and is looking forward to SYEP 2015.
Interviewed by Gellymar Rivera, Project Ready MYF Intern & Ana Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Hsa Soe
University High School of Science and Engineering
Hsa Soe works at Burlington Coat Factory in Bloomfield, CT. She’s 17 years old and attends University High School of Science & Engineering. When school returns in the fall she will be in the 12th grade.
Hsa wants to work in an office when she becomes an adult. Office work to her is something that she has always wanted to do. Her goal is to work in a high corporate office, working for the biggest company in the world.
Hsa wants to work in an office when she becomes an adult. Office work to her is something that she has always wanted to do. Her goal is to work in a high corporate office, working for the biggest company in the world.
Hsa’s strength is being multilingual; her native language is Karen, and she speaks a little Mandarin too. Her weakness is English, but she’s still working on it. She overcomes her weakness by reading more English novels and doing more public speaking. Hsa said that participating in this program gives her a better experience for the future working in stores “Here I work in the clothing section so it gives me working experience, and I get to meet new people.”
The skills she has gained while working at Burlington Coat Factory are organization, and communication skills. The things that excite her about her job is that she gets good experience and also money for school supplies. She would enjoy coming back next summer because she described her time there as being nice, and its better if she continues so over the years she can develope a better mindset of what she wants to do in the workforce.
The things that empowers Hsa are her parents. Her parents push her to do better in school. Her school also pushes her by giving her opportunities or ideas on where she wants to go to college,and her community also gives her great programs that she can attend that will help her excel in either sports, education, or the workforce.
Interviewed by Amanda Edwards, Project Ready, SYELP Intern
Teyana Whyte
The skills she has gained while working at Burlington Coat Factory are organization, and communication skills. The things that excite her about her job is that she gets good experience and also money for school supplies. She would enjoy coming back next summer because she described her time there as being nice, and its better if she continues so over the years she can develope a better mindset of what she wants to do in the workforce.
The things that empowers Hsa are her parents. Her parents push her to do better in school. Her school also pushes her by giving her opportunities or ideas on where she wants to go to college,and her community also gives her great programs that she can attend that will help her excel in either sports, education, or the workforce.
Interviewed by Amanda Edwards, Project Ready, SYELP Intern
Teyana Whyte
The Nursing Academy at Hartford Public High School
Teyana Whyte recently graduated from The Nursing Academy at Hartford Public High School. She is planning to attend New Haven University in the fall. Her life goal is to become a medical examiner. Teyana is currently an intern for the Law Office of Kevin R. Joiner. At the law office, her job is to file papers, write up legal documents, make phone calls, and organize files. Her favorite part about this internship is learning about different cases and going to court.
Teyana decided to work at the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program for work experience. Teyana is empowered by the actions of Civil Rights activists like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. She is enjoying her time at her new internship and is definitely looking forward to next summer.
Interviewed by Ana V. Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Carlos Ruiz
The Law and Government Academy at Hartford Public High School
Carlos Ruiz is a 17 year old high school student currently attending The Law and Government Academy at Hartford Public High School. One of his life goals is to become a Crime Scene Investigator. This summer, Carlos is an intern for the Law Office of Kevin R. Joiner. At his internship some of Carlos’ daily tasks include making phone calls, organizing files, and writing up legal documents. While working at the law firm, Carlos has improved his writing and speaking skills. His favorite part about his job is learning about different cases and going to court houses.
Carlos decided to work at the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program for the experience and to improve his skills in customer service, problem solving, and public speaking. He is empowered by people that have influenced and impacted his life. He has learned many skills at his new internship and is definitely looking forward to next summer.
Interviewed by Ana V. Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern.
Dakili Barnett
Capital Prep High School
Dakili Barnett is 18 years old. She has already graduated from Capital Prep High School . The job she striving to achieve is to become a doctor.
Participating in SYELP teaches her how to work better with people and be more confident in asking questions. Her weakness is time management she has overcome her weakness by using her phone to schedule her hours. By using her phone she knows when to do certain events when her phone goes off. Her strengths are being responsible, reliable, and honest. The skills she has obtained while working at her job is team building and leadership. What excites her about her job is learning new things.
She decided to work at SYELP to get more money and to gain new experience on job. What empowers Dakili is gaining more job experience.
Interviewed by Shoaib Williams, Project Ready MYF Intern and Nushawn Clarke, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Jamal Sterling
Hartford Public High School Academy of Engineering and Green Technology
Jamal Sterling is a Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program intern at the Wilson-Gray YMCA. He’s 17 years old and when school returns, this year in the fall,he will be a senior at Hartford Public High School Academy of Engineering and Green Technology.When Jamal becomes an adult he wants to be an Engineer. I asked, “How do you think participating in SYELP will help you become a better worker?” He responded, “It gives me motivation and experience with something I never knew before, I learn something new everyday!”
Like everyone, Jamal has his strengths and weaknesses, his strength happens to be teamwork and working with his peers, his weakness is public speaking.
While working at the YMCA Jamal has gained public speaking skills. Before the program Jamal said he never was good at public speaking and since he came to the YMCA public speaking is normal. The thing that excites him about his job is the money, experience, and meeting new people.When I asked, “Why did you decide to work at SYELP?” he replied, “because I thought it would be a good experience, and I wanted to do something this summer that would be educational.” Jamal would like to come back to the program next summer because to him it’s a good program.
Something that empowers Jamal is his family, his family is very important to him and every day he says he lives for them, they push him to become the best.
Interviewed by Amanda Edwards, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Amber Serrano
High School Inc.
Amber Serrano, an intern at CVS, is 17 years old and will be entering 12th grade at High School Inc. this fall. Amber would like to be a Registered Nurse when she is an adult.
Amber believes participating in the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program will help her become a better worker by gaining experience. Her strengths are communicating and customer service. The skills Amber has obtained while working at CVS is having friendly customer service. Something that excites her about the job is seeing new faces everyday. Amber decided to work at the SYELP to get more money. She would consider coming back to the program so she can proceed to make more money.
Interviewed by Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern
Teyana decided to work at the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program for work experience. Teyana is empowered by the actions of Civil Rights activists like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. She is enjoying her time at her new internship and is definitely looking forward to next summer.
Interviewed by Ana V. Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Carlos Ruiz
The Law and Government Academy at Hartford Public High School
Carlos Ruiz is a 17 year old high school student currently attending The Law and Government Academy at Hartford Public High School. One of his life goals is to become a Crime Scene Investigator. This summer, Carlos is an intern for the Law Office of Kevin R. Joiner. At his internship some of Carlos’ daily tasks include making phone calls, organizing files, and writing up legal documents. While working at the law firm, Carlos has improved his writing and speaking skills. His favorite part about his job is learning about different cases and going to court houses.
Carlos decided to work at the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program for the experience and to improve his skills in customer service, problem solving, and public speaking. He is empowered by people that have influenced and impacted his life. He has learned many skills at his new internship and is definitely looking forward to next summer.
Interviewed by Ana V. Rosario, Project Ready SYELP Intern.
Dakili Barnett
Capital Prep High School
Participating in SYELP teaches her how to work better with people and be more confident in asking questions. Her weakness is time management she has overcome her weakness by using her phone to schedule her hours. By using her phone she knows when to do certain events when her phone goes off. Her strengths are being responsible, reliable, and honest. The skills she has obtained while working at her job is team building and leadership. What excites her about her job is learning new things.
She decided to work at SYELP to get more money and to gain new experience on job. What empowers Dakili is gaining more job experience.
Interviewed by Shoaib Williams, Project Ready MYF Intern and Nushawn Clarke, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Jamal Sterling
Hartford Public High School Academy of Engineering and Green Technology
Jamal Sterling is a Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program intern at the Wilson-Gray YMCA. He’s 17 years old and when school returns, this year in the fall,he will be a senior at Hartford Public High School Academy of Engineering and Green Technology.When Jamal becomes an adult he wants to be an Engineer. I asked, “How do you think participating in SYELP will help you become a better worker?” He responded, “It gives me motivation and experience with something I never knew before, I learn something new everyday!”
Like everyone, Jamal has his strengths and weaknesses, his strength happens to be teamwork and working with his peers, his weakness is public speaking.
While working at the YMCA Jamal has gained public speaking skills. Before the program Jamal said he never was good at public speaking and since he came to the YMCA public speaking is normal. The thing that excites him about his job is the money, experience, and meeting new people.When I asked, “Why did you decide to work at SYELP?” he replied, “because I thought it would be a good experience, and I wanted to do something this summer that would be educational.” Jamal would like to come back to the program next summer because to him it’s a good program.
Something that empowers Jamal is his family, his family is very important to him and every day he says he lives for them, they push him to become the best.
Interviewed by Amanda Edwards, Project Ready SYELP Intern
Amber Serrano
High School Inc.
Amber Serrano, an intern at CVS, is 17 years old and will be entering 12th grade at High School Inc. this fall. Amber would like to be a Registered Nurse when she is an adult.
Amber believes participating in the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program will help her become a better worker by gaining experience. Her strengths are communicating and customer service. The skills Amber has obtained while working at CVS is having friendly customer service. Something that excites her about the job is seeing new faces everyday. Amber decided to work at the SYELP to get more money. She would consider coming back to the program so she can proceed to make more money.
Interviewed by Damian Comulada, Project Ready MYF Intern
