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.