{"id":2030,"date":"2012-08-21T19:29:55","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T23:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=2030"},"modified":"2012-08-21T21:41:55","modified_gmt":"2012-08-22T01:41:55","slug":"teen-summer-program-wins-rave-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=2030","title":{"rendered":"Teen summer program wins heartfelt, rave reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

Participants effusive in praise for Coatesville Youth Initiative’s ServiceCorps<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/strong><\/em>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

ServiceCorps graduates Ron Jay Jones (left) and Noah Willett linger after the ceremony for protracted farewells.<\/p><\/div>\n

The teen\u2019s former bosses could barely believe what they were reading: The boy who had just excelled during an eight-week job at the Brandywine YMCA had considered seeking reassignment because working with kids gave him pause.<\/p>\n

The revelation that Noah Willett opted to tough it out was one of numerous positive surprises that surfaced during the graduation program for Summer ServiceCorps, an intensive program of the Coatesville Youth Initiative that combines paid employment with a life and leadership curriculum and a day of volunteer service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m stunned,\u201d said Graham Smialowski, the Y\u2019s youth program director, as he read from Willett\u2019s journal, which was prominently displayed. \u201cI never saw any sign of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smialowski was so taken aback that he shared the entry with his colleague, Shannon O\u2019Donnell, the Y\u2019s school-age child-care coordinator. Not only did Willett never offer a clue that he wasn\u2019t thrilled with his assignment, he did such a superior job that the Y hopes to continue the partnership, both supervisors said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping him at the Y is definitely a benefit for us,\u201d Smialowski said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Graduate Sam Brown promises to stay in contact with Laura Hatrock, one of his mentors at Handi-Crafters.<\/p><\/div>\n

From nearly 150 applicants, Willett was one of about 40 teens from 14 to 18 dispersed among more than a dozen local job sites, where employers agreed to serve as bosses as well as mentors. The teens\u2019 triumphs, measured by their own words as well as their supervisors\u2019, lent a festive air to last night\u2019s ceremony at the Downingtown County Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight we get to celebrate the young people,\u201d said Chaya Scott, who directs the Coatesville Youth Initiative, extending thanks to all of the partners who helped make the program possible.<\/p>\n

An enthusiastic audience that included the graduates\u2019 parents, employers, community activists, and board members of the Brandywine Health Foundation, the umbrella organization for the Coatesville Youth Initiative, heard from program staffers as well as some of the teens.<\/p>\n

The emcee for the graduates\u2019 portion of the program was Sam Brown, a 17-year-old who appeared poised to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, especially when he launched into an introduction for a person \u201cvery special to me,\u201d transferred the microphone to his other hand, and began talking about his summer experience.<\/p>\n

Like Willett, Brown said he was queasy about his assignment at Handi-Crafters, an employment service for individuals with disabilities. But his fears that the regimen might be boring proved unfounded, he said. \u201cI started to love going to work,\u201d he said. The reason? Seeing the smiles on the faces of employees who were thrilled to have their jobs \u201ctouched my heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Graham Smialowski from the Brandywine YMCA peruses one of the journals on display at the ServiceCorps graduation.<\/p><\/div>\n

Brown elicited laughs of disbelief when he revealed a hidden personality trait: \u201cSome people may not know this, but I was shy once.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other graduates elaborated on that theme, expressing gratitude for the boost in self-confidence the program provided.<\/p>\n

In addition to working at places such as Brandywine Hospital, Regency Park Apartments, Graystone Society, Coatesville City Hall, and the Brandywine Valley Association, the teens also completed ServiceCorps coursework, bonding with mentors, staff, and each other in the process.<\/p>\n

Jordan Crans, director of the Bridge Academy and Community Center and a veteran ServiceCorps host, said she would highly recommend the program. Besides providing her with assistance for the academy\u2019s summer learning program, it helped the teens learn the complexities of running such a program.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially, they thought: \u2018We\u2019re just going to play with the kids all day,\u2019\u201d Crans said. \u201cAnd while they did do plenty of that, they also helped clean, organize, prepare lesson plans, and set up crafts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Samaria S. Turner gives the ServiceCorps program an enthusiastic thumbs-up.<\/p><\/div>\n

For some graduates, the ceremony marked the end of more than a summer opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cSadly, I officially aged out of the program,\u201d said Jessica Locker, who is heading to college. \u201cI was truly blessed to be chosen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locker, who said the program released her from a \u201cturtle shell,\u201d stressed its lasting impact. The graduates then demonstrated that sentiment as they left the ceremony, stopping every few seconds for more rounds of photos, tearful embraces, and vows to keep in touch.<\/p>\n

Imani Gilliam, the ServiceCorps program coordinator, exchanged some of the most difficult farewells since she is leaving her part-time post after two summers to pursue full-time work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will definitely be back in some capacity,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is just too special.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Participants effusive in praise for Coatesville Youth Initiative’s ServiceCorps By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times The teen\u2019s former bosses could barely believe what they were reading: The boy who had just excelled during an eight-week job at the Brandywine YMCA had considered seeking reassignment because working with kids gave him pause. The revelation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3,1],"tags":[110,317,682,680,258,681,628],"class_list":["post-2030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-community","category-featured","category-uncategorized","tag-brandywine-health-foundation","tag-brandywine-hospital","tag-bridge-academy-and-community-center","tag-chaya-scott","tag-coatesville-youth-initiative","tag-handi-crafters","tag-servicecorps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}