One of Briana Harrison’s favorite parts of acting as a mentor for UChicago’s Youth Internship Program for local high school students is introducing participating interns to career paths—and capabilities—they’d never considered.
“One of the students told me was how shocked she was when she met all the mentors and they were all women from different backgrounds and ethnicities,” Harrison, a genitourinary and chest research manager who oversaw four students placed in research roles in UChicago Medicine’s Comprehensive Cancer Center Cancer Clinical Trials department this summer, said. “That was so cool for her because she’d never seen that before so I just love opening those eyes to say, ‘Hey, you could get into this field, too.’”
Now in its fifth year, the Youth Internship Program (YIP), led by the University’s Office of Civic Engagement, is a paid summer employment opportunity for 100 South Side Chicago public high school students that spans two summers and offers participating students college and career readiness support as well as hands-on experience in health sciences, computer sciences, or IT services within one of several University units. With funding support from One Summer Chicago, the UChicago Women’s Board, and the JCCC Foundation of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago the program is serving more students at a deeper level than ever.
Beyond opening students’ eyes to what an industry professional might look like, participating interns like rising South Shore College Prep senior Jayden Lewis say the program showed them whole career sectors they didn’t know existed. Lewis was one of the second-year interns placed on Harrison’s Cancer Clinical Trials research team this year and spent his summer creating research kits for patients; shadowing clinical research coordinators; organizing data; and completing other projects that explored different types of cancer, treatments, and related clinical trials.
“At the beginning of this internship, I didn’t know the different things that happen more hands-on behind the scenes. Growing up, I just knew about the doctors and the nurses, but I feel like this internship gave me, and can give other people, a different outlook on what actually happens in hospitals,” Lewis said. “It’s not just about the doctors and nurses—it’s also about the clinical research coordinators, and the people who make the patient trackers and give the dosages and make sure the patients are being treated properly. There are just a lot of different factors.”
First-Year Foundations
Lewis credits his participation in YIP last summer with readying him to jump into this summer’s more hands-on role as well as roles he’ll likely encounter in his college and career years. Year 1 interns focus on career and college preparation through workshops, seminars, and activities. As a participant in the health sciences track, for instance, Lewis learned emergency first-aid skills, took part in hospital visits, and otherwise focused on building out a resume, preparing for college applications, and strengthening networking and communication skills. This year’s cohort of Year 1 interns shared similar experiences with their mentors and program leaders when they presented on lessons learned in July, recounting key takeaways including the importance of professionalism, attention to detail, and keeping an open mind when it comes to career options.
Unexpected Pathways
For Nasir Hardaman, keeping an open mind led to spending his second YIP summer interning in the University’s Computer Science Instructional Laboratory (CSIL) instead of the health sciences pathway he’d initially explored in Year 1.
“I wasn’t really interested in computer science but having to learn coding language actually ended up being fun. I really liked it,” Hardaman said. “It taught me that I can always have an open mind and try things to see if I like them or not. My mindset is just to stay optimistic so whatever opportunity comes you can see where it takes you.”
Hardaman, who recently graduated from Kenwood Academy High School, and another intern worked with CSIL Director Cosmos Boekell as their mentor and focused on building up their coding knowledge and eventually designing a game using that knowledge as a final project.
“It’s a two-way learning process—our student staff sharpen their own skills by teaching, while the interns get to explore computational thinking and coding in an accessible and hands-on way,” Boekell said. “Computer science is a foundational literacy across so many fields, and creating opportunities for high school students to gain early exposure is something I deeply value. For most people, computer science can feel abstract or intimidating at first. But with consistent effort, that uncertainty gives way to clarity and creativity. That breakthrough moment is something we try to support and celebrate at CSIL, and I saw both of our interns experience it this summer.”
Particularly as a soon-to-be-first-generation college student, Hardaman says his six weeks with CSIL have helped him feel more prepared for the classes he’ll take when he goes to study electrical engineering at Northern Illinois University this fall. And the broader college readiness programming he took part in over both YIP summers gave him tools he needed to apply to college and the network and confidence he’ll need to succeed.