Interns Gain Lessons for Success

Aleigha Lockhart (Intern), Miriam Esquivel (LHCDC) and Ethan Houser (Intern)

On July 30^th I had the opportunity to attend the ending ceremony for the Youth Leadership Development program through the North Carolina Community Development Initiative which is based in Raleigh. Through the program high school seniors from all over the state apply for the opportunity to intern with community development corporations in their communities. This allows the students to not only help to better their communities but to also gain leaderships skills that will be beneficial for 

them in the near future. 

When I first arrived I walked into a room that was filled with twenty-six rising high school seniors, their families, and representatives from their host intern sites. It was refreshing to see a group of young people who were so passionate about bettering the state of their communities and spent a portion of their summer doing so when they could have easily been doing anything else. Without even knowing the majority of the students I got the vibe that to them their internships were more than just internships. I felt that they truly enjoyed what they had done and the things that they had learned this summer. This was confirmed when the director of the initiative recognized one of the students individually. She explained that because of a lack of spaces at the host sites they were unable to accept the student into the internship program. The student did not let this deter her from doing what she wanted to do. Though she was not accepted into the internship program the student decided that she was going to volunteer at the host site in her community. This really stood out to me, this student was so passionate about what she wanted to do that she didn’t let one small hiccup get in her way. 

The keynote speaker, Dr. Rev. Stacatto Powell gave a short but powerful speech that I feel was received by everyone that was listening. He first congratulated the students on taking the first step to being a leader in the future by being a part of the internship program. He went on to say that no matter what obstacles may arise to use your will power and continue you pursing your goals and stay on the path to success. He also touched on being different from those around you. He talked about how being different from others may seem like a hardship during high school but you will appreciate our differences as you get older and realize the differences that you did not appreciate when you were younger are what truly sets you apart from others and that you could benefit from them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ending ceremony. I left there motivated and ready to work hard and to take all the steps necessary to ensure my success in the future.

Why LHCDC?

For as long as I can remember volunteering and helping others in any way I can has been a passion of mine. This passion has never wavered, and I do it as often as I can. Throughout high school I was granted the opportunity, through Project Potential, to volunteer with Lexington Housing Community Development Corporation to help make homes of the elderly more livable for them.  I always looked forward to being able to do this. However, my first interaction with LHCDC came before I even entered high school. It came when their work hit very close to home. My great-grandmother’s home was in a condition not suitable for an elderly woman to live in. At all. With a roof that needed to be replaced many years before and a bedroom ceiling now leaking, it broke our family’s hearts for someone who had done so much for so many people not to be able to afford to get a new roof. We were beyond grateful when LHCDC brought students from their group work camp to fix my great-grandmother’s roof and ceiling. At that age I knew this was a great thing; however, it was not until high school, when I began to volunteer with LHCDC, that I understood the caliber of work that they did for my great-grandmother and the weight that they had lifted off of my family’s back.

                      

As I have progressed though my college years, my drive to help others has grown at an exponential rate, so much so that I have decided that I want my career path to involve helping others in some capacity. My drive is especially prevalent to helping those in the city that I was born and raised in: Lexington, North Carolina. During my junior year of college, having more life experience under my belt and truly understanding what it meant to help others I decided that I wanted to do more for my community. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. Then it hit me.... LHCDC! Remembering my volunteering experience with them, what they had done for my great-grandmother and what they had done for the community as a whole, I wanted to be involved and see how it all worked on the inside. These thoughts pushed me to find a way in which I could get involved with the organization that I am so fond of. 

This summer I was granted an internship opportunity with LHCDC and I couldn’t be more excited!

                     

On the first day, it was explained to me that during the duration of my internship I will have the title of Co-Editorial Director for the student edition of the Empowerment Magazine (make sure you pick up your copy), which is a magazine that has been launched by LHCDC as a resource for the citizens of Davidson County. I will also attend community events with the LHCDC team among other things. I have been afforded an amazing opportunity with an amazing organization and 

I am beyond excited for all that I will learn and all of the experience that I will gain.