This summer we had the great pleasure of welcoming a few new faces to our halls! In partnership with the Bloomberg Arts Internship (BAI) and the Successlink Summer Program, we were joined by 6 youth workers aged 15-18 who helped us prepare for the upcoming school year.
At CMCB, we strive to empower our youth to build and identify their skills in a way that prepares them to build their own pathways in the future. We were glad to partner with two programs that aligned with us on the importance of preparing our youths to be totally in control of their futures.
Both BAI and Succeslink share similar missions in connecting youth with summer internships and other employment opportunities. Where BAI’s focus is to “help them acquire the tools they need to succeed in high school, college, and as future adults and community leaders,” Successlink aims to “not only to recruit and hire youth, but also to ensure that their employment experience is engaging, meaningful, and a building block for their professional development and personal success.” With such meaningful partners at our side, we were excited to welcome the interns into our space for the summer!
From late June to mid-August, our interns spent 24-30 hours per week helping us with significant and essential projects. Our Programs interns worked to create a comprehensive music library, a big help to us after the flood in 34 Warren last November. Our Advancement Interns spent the summer researching decades of connections throughout CMCB’s community, giving us the information we needed to connect multiple generations of CMCB families and community members. Both projects would have been too large for our staff alone, so we were so grateful to have their support.
Working at CMCB has made me a lot more prepared for the rest of my life [and] …gave me a real taste of what the real world is like. I plan to use this knowledge to help me plan on the future and help me determine what I want to do later in life and what I need to do in order to achieve my dreams.
Carlos, BAI intern, 17
And just as noteworthy as their hard work, was the energy they brought to the space. Even with continued programming, summers at CMCB tend to be on the quieter side, but every student worker reinvigorated our space. We are so grateful for their hard work and presence over these last few months and wish them luck on their academic journeys this fall.
