Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell

At a recent Energy and Technology Committee meeting, I asked Seattle Youth Employment Program participants Tracelyn Moore, Hodan Dahir Hassan, Karen Wong, and Vincent Nguyen, to join the discussion at the Energy and Technology Committee at Council Chambers. We acknowledged each young man and woman for participating in the internship program at the City’s Legislative Department. Click here to view the Energy and Technology Committee meeting and the introductions of Tracelyn, Hodan, Karen, and Vincent. [http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=2080916]

Each intern was provided opportunities to explore a variety of work experiences – they learned new office skills, communication skills, computer skills, office etiquette and social skills. Tracelyn, Hodan, Karen, and Vincent learned invaluable life lessons that come with working and earning a paycheck.

Each intern sat around the community table in the Council Chamber and spoke candidly about their accomplishments and aspirations:

Tracelyn Moore—A recent graduate from Franklin High School, recently interned with the Department of Labor. Tracelyn is working toward becoming an attorney.

Hodan Dahir Hassan—Participated in SYEP for 3 years. Her future is brighter because of SYEP. Hodan received homework help and work readiness. Hodan aspires to be an attorney.

Karen Wong—A recent graduate from Roosevelt High School, Karen will be a sophomore at the University of Washington. She was tutored every week and received great academic support from the SYEP program. She learned office skills, as well as social and communication skills. Karen wants an international business degree.

Vincent Nguyen—A senior at Roosevelt high school, indicated he learned new social and work skills. Vincent is grateful for SYEP and wants to pursue a future in computer science.

The SYEP program is a year-round academic support and job training program that will serve up to 650 youth this year. It serves youth ages 14 to 21 and pays interns a minimum wage salary of $8.55 per hour. This award winning program has been operated by the Seattle Human Services Department for more than 25 years. The next deadline for SYEP is February 2010. For more information about applying for SYEP, call 206-386-1375 or email SYEP@seattle.gov.

Each year increasing numbers of participants find temporary or permanent jobs on their own as a result of what they learned in the program. Local employers who have hired program youth include the City of Seattle, Port of Seattle, and Starbucks. For more details about how to enroll in the Seattle Youth Employment Program, click here. http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/youth/employment.htm

Trackback URI | Comments RSS