My work continues.

I continue to do project after project in my community – part of being a volunteer is you just keep trying to help in various ways and, believe me, I have tried many projects during my time here (some have been successful and others, well, not so much). 

I believe I mentioned I got funding for an internship project last March/April? Well, we are now about six months into the project.  I started with 12 interns. I have essentially “fired” three of the interns because they weren’t performing and it was clear they didn’t want to be in the program. I have now replaced these three interns. Eight of the interns are doing a fantastic job now. And the last one is on the fence at this point (we'll see). I’ve learned so much throughout the process and hopefully they have too. The interns help at their respective centers during the week after school with various activites and we meet once a month to workshop different job skills -  from how to use a computer to learning about interviewing for a job. I have them write reports every month, they all have set up emails (and are figuring out how to use them), and they are getting started using the internet as a research tool (this has been a slow process).  I am really happy with how things are turning out.

I also wanted to be able to take them on trips to learn about different careers throughout the internship. We took our first trip last month to learn about aviation careers. We were able to visit the air force base and the interns got to see a helicopter and meet some of the pilots, air traffic controllers, and mechanics. They even got to see a plane land while we were in the air traffic tower which was pretty spectacular. But most importantly they were able to ask questions about what they need to study in school if they want to become a pilot or a mechanic. It was inspiring to see them perk up and really engage in a conversation about their future.

Here’s to a successful project!