The biggest challenges have been equity with access to resources and experiences for my students in the Bronx. We also experience providers who may be underfunded and cannot support holistically.  

I was faced with communicating with a student intern on attending staff check-ins and meeting deadlines. Firstly, I offered an opportunity for the student to self-assess/identify the things that were going well. I moved on to asking how can I support the areas where she felt like she may have been struggling with. The student was able to identify that she missed check-ins and deadlines and explained to me why that was happening. I asked how can I support her in changing that outcome and it was a simple change in scheduling days and hours of work. She did AMAZINGLY after that adjustment. 

When connecting students to internship opportunities there is a level of assumption that the school has prepared them for the world of work and that the employer is versed in employing young people. 

The standards I would use to back-up these assumptions would be accuracy, by surveying the parties involved to understand their level of preparedness, and fairness, provide grace to both parties in finding systems that work best to be successful in the workplace. 

During an employers convening, we were reviewing the outcomes of their internship programs,  some did not meet the agreed upon expectations and expressed how students were at fault. We had norms which outlined that no blaming would happen, we had to address that in the moment and it was a tough conversation to have. But we were able to have employers to be accountable for how they might have contributed to the unsuccessfulness of interns and how they might support them better in the future. 

Situation: Community college students in the Bronx, have an essential need to work and earn an income to help support the family while enrolled in classes. 

Leader: 
1. Able to gather local Bronx employers to provide paid internship opportunities.
2. Support the Community college to create a program that provided class credits to students who were already working as a part of the Bronx Recovery Corps pilot