♪♪
[BRUCE HARRELL] Thanks for the 15 city departments
and offices
and the 60 employers for spending
your most precious commodity with our youth.
Which is your time and your wisdom.
♪♪
[ELIJAH ISAIAH WARREN] So when you're going through our program,
it's really doing a lot of personal inventory
of who I am as a person.
Who do I want to be?
In the program,
I can understand: "Okay, I can see myself reflected
and I can see myself
in this particular position or working in tech."
[JELIYAH SHERMAN] The Summer Youth Employment
Program was a big deal for me because I was doing a job
where I was learning like valuable life
skills that I could take to my future.
And I was at a place where I could see
that people value each other and they valued me.
[ABDIWAHID BISHAR HAJIR] I experienced
much more than the job itself.
Like, I got to work with people,
I got to work with actual software
engineers, actual like like producers, actual people.
You know, it's like, you know...you
get to see all these opportunities.
[FATHIMA GARCIA] This program just provides so much accessibility
for minorities, for BIPOC students,
to kind of get that door open
into the business world, into the workforce.
[ELIJAH ISAIAH WARREN] The playing field
isn't leveled whatsoever,
especially for Black and Brown
folks and folks that are part of the LGBTQ+
community, as well as other folks
that come here
and try to participate in everyday American life.
And so that's why SYEP is trying to bridge that gap.
[BRUCE HARRELL] We talk about
building leadership and building teams, building
the youth.
This is this is what that looks like in action.
[DEBORAH HARRIS] I would say to people
that are considering it, shape a young person's life.
You'll never be the same.
She was amazing, not shy.
She's very joyful.
It just was a really great experience.
(cheering and clapping)
[JELIYAH SHERMAN] Most summers like for teenagers, like,
oh, you know, I went on trips and called my friends.
It was great. I had fun, you know.
But like this year I can say I learned something.
That's going to carry with me,
you know, as I continue to grow.
♪♪