Meet Ian, a rising junior from Staten Island. Learn about the valuable skills he cultivated over the summer and the Work-Based Learning program that made it possible.
“I’m definitely signing up for this program again next year!” said 16-year-old Ian from Staten Island. He was enthusiastic about his participation in Future Ready’s Youth Development Pilot, which offers high school students aged 16 and older valuable paid opportunities to develop essential workplace skills related to education.
“I do feel like this experience would be useful to every high school student as long as they are willing to take it,” said Ian. He saw it as a valuable chance for personal growth and development.
The Youth Development Pilot offers high school courses to develop teaching skills and internships where they can apply those skills by leading activities for elementary and middle school-aged students. Students not only gain practical experience but also increase their interest and engagement in education careers while enhancing their workplace readiness competencies such as leadership, problem-solving, and collaboration.
Ian, a rising junior, initially learned about the program through a friend. To make the most of his summer, he applied and was happy to land a summer role teaching elementary students how to make music through coding. After a 2 week training with Building Beats, a non profit that teaches young people about music production, Ian began his 100 hour internship at George L. Egbert Intermediate School 2, where he worked on developing lesson plans and the necessary skills to teach young students how to create music through coding. Ian’s teaching comfort level improved over the summer under the guidance of Thomas Egan, who serves as the Program Director at United Activities Unlimited.
“He helped a lot,” said Ian. “He kept asking questions to make sure my experience while working with them was a positive one.”
Ian has clear aspirations of attending college and pursuing an engineering degree, and he recognized that the skills he acquired during the program would be invaluable in supporting his ambition.
“I do think this is a good thing to add to my resume as a work experience,” he said. “I enjoyed this program and it gives kids the chance to earn money, but also allows them to expand their horizons.”
