“Hanging out” … “video games” … “seeing friends” — that’s how some local teenagers say they probably would have spent the past couple of months if the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Golden Triangle had not offered a very different experience. Instead, teens were learning graphic design, checking in hotel guests, working sound boards, setting up retail displays and getting a look at how county government works.
BGC Career Central, a new statewide club initiative, is introducing kids to real-world realities. The workforce development program teaches career readiness and money management and arranges summer internships for eligible participants. Throw in college campus tours and career field trips like a visit to CNN headquarters in Atlanta. The program has changed the narrative on the age-old, back-to-school essay about “What I did this summer” for dozens of area youth. That their stories are likely to benefit their Columbus and Starkville communities, too, makes Career Central a win-win.
“This has been a really great success for our teens and will go a long way for preparing work forces across the Golden Triangle area,” said Boys and Girls Clubs-GT Chief Professional Officer Nadia Colom.
Teen Coordinator Crystal Alfaro of the Boys and Girls Club in Starkville calls it groundbreaking. Mississippi is the first state to get a program grant and really run with it, she said. “It’s going to be exciting to see where we can really go with this.”
Nineteen Boys and Girls Club organizations statewide received funding support through the Department of Human Services to implement the program, Colom said. Locally, 84 area youth ages 12 to 18 have studied or are studying career launch topics like resumes, interview skills and budgeting. Following that coursework, which began earlier this year, 33 teenagers were paired with business and government partners for six-week summer internships.
“I think I needed this because I was feeling a little bit scared about getting a job,” said 17-year-old Tabitha Latham who completed her internship with the 16th Circuit Court District Attorney’s office last week. Working with Victim Assistance staff, the Caledonia High School senior entered data, developed spread sheets and helped wherever needed.
Victim Assistance Director Tina Rogers worked with Latham and said, “This program teaches them different strengths and gives them the ability to have really good critical thinking skills. It allows them to branch out into fields they weren’t familiar with.”
Options
At Signature Sound and Printing Media Solutions in Columbus, Tyrin Ross and Cobi Lowery, both 17, interned with owners Orlando Abrams and Jarvis Taylor. The Columbus High students learned some graphic design and Photoshop basics and took on other tasks related to advertising and marketing. Career Central, they say, has given them a glimpse of “how life really works.”
As part of the program, they attended East Mississippi Community College’s Camp AMP (Advanced Manufacturing Professionals). There middle and high school students are introduced to manufacturing careers they may want to pursue after high school.
“I want to be an architect, but I think Camp AMP helped me make my second and third choices, like welding,” said Tyrin.
Cobi added, “I learned I might be interested in custom collision repair. This has shown us a lot of different options.”
Hospitality
“When you stay in a motel, you don’t think about all there is to do!” said Michiah Latham, a Golden Triangle Early College student who interned at Best Western of Columbus. She is a sister to Tabitha, who interned with the DA’s office. Under the direction of Operational Manager Sharon Jones, 14-year-old Michiah got acquainted with jobs from registration to housekeeping.
Career Central’s curriculum has broadened her horizons; money management was especially helpful. “When you’re young, you don’t think about saving; you think mostly about spending.”
Michiah’s and Tabitha’s mother, Melinda Latham, applauds the new program. “I think it’s awesome. I know my daughters were very motivated.” It’s especially timely for Tabitha, 17. “She’s been ready to graduate and she needed that exposure to be able to kind of see what she liked,” her mother said. “After working in the DA’s office, I think she may want to look into law or being a paralegal.”
On the gridiron, too
As important as internships are, BGC Career Central is much more, reaching out to teens in other innovative ways — like taking career launch and money management sessions to Starkville High School’s football players this past spring semester. New Head Coach Chris Jones is enthusiastic about the team-club partnership.
“On Tuesdays, they would come talk about career management — like resumes, how to dress for interviews, how to conduct yourself like a professional. On Thursdays, they’d talk about how to manage money,” said Jones, a former Jackson State standout who played in the NFL and Canadian Football League.
“I played in college and professional football and just have seen people make money and make wrong decisions,” Jones said. “This kinda showed them that all the money you make doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have a budget and do the right things.”
Career Central dovetails with Jones’ interest in his players and today’s teens. “We want to help them proceed in life. I feel like we have to do more than talk about football. There’s a real world out there.”
Off and running
Alfaro at the Boys and Girls Club in Starkville is passionate about the strong start BGC Career Central is off to and its potential.
“It’s been cool to see them grow and learn about the workforce, about financials, the stock market, saving their money and what (employers) are looking for,” she said. “I like to ask them, if you were trying to hire someone, what qualities would you look for. … It makes them think a little harder about things.”
Jones at Best Western praised what Boys and Girls Clubs are accomplishing. “This year to see what Nadia and the clubs are doing, it’s phenomenal. The exposure youth are getting to business and work ethic, and learning that if you do well, you’re compensated for it — and it’s gearing them toward learning what they really want to do. I think that’s good for the community.”
Career Central is driving home life lessons for teens who will soon be making college and career decisions. In the end, it’s all about responsibility, said Sarah Suddith who interned at Pop Porium, a gourmet popcorn shop in Starkvile.
“It’s one of the biggest things,” said the 13-year-old Armstrong Middle School eighth-grader.
Key to the success of Career Central’s internships are business and government partners — others to date include the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau, Lowndes County Courthouse, J5/Broaddus, Swanky B Boutique, WCBI and Veal Chiropractic Center. Other employers have offered job shadowing opportunities. More partnerships mean more wins for teens — and more wins for the communites they live in.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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