Summer jobs give kids an eye on their future
Aside from volunteering at her South Clinton Avenue church, 16-year-old Diamond Young has never had a job. But that is about to change this week.
Young, along with 74 other city high school students, will be working and getting hands-on experience in career fields they have an interest in as part of one of three summer work experience programs organized by the Ibero-American Action League and funded through Rochester Works and the City of Rochester. The programs run for six weeks starting this week, and each one has a different focus, from entrepreneurship to health-related fields, and includes a final project.
For someone who has never held a job, Young has a pretty set career path in mind. The Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School student says she wants to start off in nursing but eventually wants to become a mortician.
“I want to work in nursing (this summer). I like that field… I’m excited,” Young said.
Young is part of the one program that has a health, engineering or education focus. Students in that program might be interning at places such as the Red Cross, Bausch & Lomb or Nazareth College.
In the arts summer program, students work on putting together a gallery of artwork during the six weeks. Ibero-American Action League Programs Director Aida Veras said the third option is an entrepreneur-oriented program. Throughout the six weeks, the students in the youth entrepreneur program will take trips and chat with business owners while working on their group final project — a community center design.
Although the Ibero-American Action League’s focus is helping Latino youth, Veras said, the programs were open to all city youth. Veras said each student receives a $100 stipend each week.
Rochester Works executive director Peter Pecor said they are helping fund 36 such programs this summer. “All programs are provided by individual community agencies. … Rochester Works is the monetary and fiscal agent.” This is the first time Ibero has received funding for three programs, Veras said.
The Ibero programs officially started last week, but it was mostly orientation-related, such as going over questions the students had regarding their summer programs. Although most students were eager to go out into the different fields, David Reveron, 18, said he was hoping his internship would be right at the Puerto Rican Youth Development Center, a subsidiary of Ibero-American Action League, where he and Young both trained last week.
“I like helping others and I believe in this community,” the James Monroe High School student said, referring to the Latino community.
Pecor said the idea of all the summer programs is not to give youths “busy work” but instead have them “walk out with a better idea of the career they are looking at” whatever that may be.
CLVARGAS@DemocratandChronicle.com
