Pelham Together hosted another successful internship experience for 36 Pelham teens this summer. Pelham Together’s Summer Internship Program provides high school students with the opportunity to build positive relationships, connections and work experience with local community leaders and organizations while getting paid. Needless to say, it’s good for everyone!

The internship program doubled in size this year with 36 teens participating.  We were able to meet this increased demand thanks to the generous support of individuals, local businesses and organizations, Assemblywoman Paulin and Senator Biaggi. The participating Pelham high school students, 9th - 12th grade, were placed in 25 different organizations in and around Pelham. 

The program began with a 2-day leadership retreat facilitated by youth development expert, Daniel Horgan. The student interns worked in groups to hone communication skills, understand different work styles, and problem solve real workplace scenarios. As part of the process, they created resumes, established goals for their internship and met and worked with adults from a variety of fields, forming friendships with fellow interns along the way. 

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin met with and congratulated the interns on the commitment to their futures by participating in the program. She highlighted the value of experimenting with different work experiences and the importance of demonstrating a willingness to learn and of finding their voice. “This is a perfect way to try different things to find out what you enjoy,” she said. Assemblywoman Paulin told them, “be reliable, be upbeat and enthusiastic, and ask questions….  If you see something you’d like to try to do, you should ask.”  

Interns and mentors shared lunch at the Meet and Greet event before they began their 3-week placement at one of 25 different organizations. The mentors were as excited as the interns! Clay Bushong, a parent and mentor in the program, shared, “Speaking as both a mentor and a parent of a student in the program, I cannot stress enough how incredible this experience is for everyone involved.” “The opportunity that you (Pelham Together) are providing these students is beyond amazing.” Rosemary Maggiore, a mentor for interns placed at TheaterMania in Manhattan, said “I was impressed with how well-run the program is. I love the training that you gave the kids.”

Placements ranged in industry, including non-profits, education, real estate, the arts, local and state government, theatre and film production, civic groups, businesses, veterinarian, and electrical and automotive businesses. Projects consisted of video production assistance, event planning, social media management, marketing and publicity, interviewing and making pitches, creating podcasts, assisting with animals, research, grants management, and historical archive projects. Interns completed 30 hours of project work over a 3-week period. Importantly, they made new connections in town with mentors who quite often offered to be references for them, and some even secured part-time jobs going forward! See below for interns hard (and happy) at work! 

Pelham Together was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such a wonderful group of teens this summer, and we look forward to their work on the Youth Council and Club during the school year. Keep your eyes out for all the social events this group is planning, the awareness campaigns and fundraisers for issues they care about, and the start of a Pelham Together Club at the Middle School! 

If you would like to get involved with planning teen events and campaigns, contact Danielle Marrero at dmarrero@pelhamtogether.org any time. Congratulations again, to the 36 student interns for successfully completing Pelham Together’s Summer internship program 2019. Applications for our Summer 2020 Internship available in March.