PRESS RELEASE
DC Youth Get a Taste of the Workplace at DowntownDC BID
Release Date: Friday, July 8th 2011
Nine Summer Youth Employment Program Interns Gain Useful Work Experience
It’s been said that young people need models, not critics. Many also need jobs, and this summer the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) has again hired interns from the DC Department of Employment Services’ (DOES) Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) as project assistants in various departments, from Economic Development to Operations.
“We have a very diverse group this summer,” said Richard H. Bradley, executive director of the DowntownDC BID. “Some are enrolled as college students, and some also have stepped into the workplace for the first time. It’s really important that local businesses give young, DC residents the opportunity to gain skills necessary to compete successfully in today’s labor market. In the long run, everyone benefits.”
Each year, the SYEP interns join the BID as part of a cooperative arrangement with DOES, which provides subsidized placements in both the private and public sectors. While the BID provides critical real work experience, the interns provide much-needed project support compiling data, working on databases, assisting with special projects and surveys, and providing youthful enthusiasm.
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Back row: Left to right, Davion Rawlings, Andraya Proctor, Constantine Dixon, and Kathleen O'Keefe. |
The 2011 summer interns, some of whom are enrolled as students at Yale, Virginia State, Bowie State, Evergreen State College, and Lafayette College, are as follows:
- Constantine Dixon – Economic Development
- Ivory Gaines – Operations Team
- Derrick Jones – Operations Team
- David McCray – Operations Team
- Kathleen O’Keefe – Infrastructure and Sustainability
- William Omorogieva – Public Space Management
- Andraya Proctor – Communications
- Davion Rawlings – Operations Team
- GerNika Tyler – Events
Nineteen-year-old David McCray, a graduate of Young America Works Public Charter School, is working in the Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance (SAM) Program, where he’s helping contribute to a clean and attractive environment. He said his current goal is to “hold a steady job, pick up on a trade, better my life … and find a positive role model to look up to.”
Kathleen O’Keefe, a graduate of Woodrow Wilson Senior High School and a rising senior at Yale University, had never heard of SYEP before a friend informed her about the program. The American studies student turned down a nonpaying internship to earn much-needed money and the chance to secure a “cooler” assignment with the BID.
“Not only are our interns learning from each other,” said Bradley, “but they’re interacting with working professionals who are committed to their jobs, to Downtown, and to the city. This is a powerful combination. It helps to shape these young people’s attitudes, perspectives, and goals.”
“We are thrilled to partner with the DowntownDC BID to provide significant work experience for our Summer Youth Employment Program participants,” said DOES Acting Director Lisa M. Mallory. “As mentioned, it is extremely important for District employers to give our youth these opportunities in order to prepare them for success in the workplace.”
SYEP serves youth who are 14 to 21 years of age. This summer, 12,000 young people began work at more than 450 locations, and will work through August 5.
Among the changes implemented this year: a more stringent SYEP certification process; a Career Exploration Fair at the National Building Museum, which allowed the young people to meet employers, explore different career options, and even be hired on the spot; and a system that enabled them to rank their top five potential employers. More than 20,000 youth applied to SYEP.
