Summer Interns

This summer, 28 students are working at various internships through the SYNERGY Program.
Ralithia Dennis, The Stand’s summer intern who is also participating in this program, shares how the program prepares each student for their new workplace.

Mercy Works is dedicated to meeting various social needs of those in the community by empowering urban youth through programs that instill vision and a sense of purpose.

One way Mercy Works is able to do this is by providing a summer internship program called SYNERGY. SYNERGY takes place June 22 through Aug. 7 at the Vision Center, located at 1221 S. Salina St. The program provides opportunities in the workplace for graduating, college-bound, high school and current undergraduate college students.

“This is a good experience to prepare you for the working world” says 20-year-old Anthony Brown Jr.

Anthony works on logos for other programs Mercy Works provides.
Anthony works on logos for other programs Mercy Works provides.

The first week consisted of orientation and workshops. During this time, students in the program came together. There were a total of 29 students. Everyone seemed to get along and meet people who hold similar interests. Bentray Reed, 19, says “finally I feel that I am part of a team I can relate to.”

In the workshops, students are taught various things from the value of having a vision to the appropriate way to dress in the workplace, which teaches the trainees how to obtain and keep a job. This prepares students for their internship at a local company.  The SYNERGY program is a great opportunity for real life career preparation, and orientation was the point of the program where students receive one-on-one time with professionals to get advice and ask questions.

During orientation, students are also responsible for putting together a service learning project. The project is given to the students so that they can utilize the skills learned through the SYNERGY program. Picking the subject was a long process because students must work as a team and come to some sort of agreement.

Addison Spears, 20, says “the process was too long … feels like we broke down to break down what we already decided on. I think it could have been shorter.”

This year students decided to put together a community dialog.

For more student intern profiles, visit our Flickr Web site.

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