A couple of years ago, a soft-spoken young woman named Tenesha signed up for Green Works programming. On her application, Tenesha wrote that science was her least favorite subject and she admitted that the environmental topics were of little interest to her. But as the year progressed, she became more confident and actively engaged in group activities, sharing her ideas and thoughts. Tenesha now refers to the ECOS class as “fun, real-life science, not boring school science.” She adds, “Math and Science are still my least favorite subjects in school. But, I like them in real life.”
This past year Tenesha participated in our second-year Green Future program where she researched growing careers that aligned with her interests and ability. She created career plans for three careers that all involved working directly with people, in a customer-service type capacity. When the opportunity to place an intern at Nature’s Own Health Market came up, I knew it would be a perfect fit for Tenesha.
Tenesha and I went for the interview and Tenesha told Lottie and Jeff that while she was really excited to work at Nature’s Own, she wasn’t comfortable running the cash register. It wouldn’t be a problem though – there were plenty of other things to do like stocking shelves, handing out samples, helping customers and sacking.
Two weeks into her internship, I stopped by to take a photo of Tenesha. She had just finished creating a Fourth of July display. As soon as I told her I wanted to take a photo she jumped on the cash register and started checking out customers. Of course I was surprised and asked her about it. She just smiled and said “it turns out it isn’t so hard after all.” I was so proud!
Tenesha is doing better in school because of her involvement with Green Works, and she has gained confidence and new skills. Like her, nine other Green Works students have been placed in internships this summer. The experiences they gain change their lives. And there is data to back this up. Studies report that summer internships not only increase academic performance, but improve future job success and earnings for up to 15 years after high school graduation.
In fact, we’ve just found out that Tenesha has been offered a regular part-time job with Nature’s Own! So stop by Nature’s Own and congratulate her.
