`Urban League program helps youth ‘plan to work and work your plan’`

By Kristen Garrett
Herald Staff Writer

The Shenango Valley Urban League is doing its part to help young people plan for future careers. Cheryl King, vice president and director of human relations for the Urban League, said the Summer Youth Initiation Program pairs students from the ages of 11 to 14 with businesses in the area. This is the fourth year of the program. She said next year they hope to extend the program to include 15-year-olds.

The Urban League tries to appeal to local businesses willing to allow a student to shadow employees for one to two weeks in the summer, Mrs. King said. She said they don’t always find an apprenticeship program for every interest, but they do place all the students in a job. Mrs. King said some students really enjoy their jobs while others find it’s “not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Mrs. King said the program is important because there isn’t enough done for kids who achieve. “We have dynamite kids in the Shenango Valley,” she said.

Friday the program ended with Summer Youth Apprentice Day. Parents were on hand to see the children who participated in the program honored with certificates and pencil pouches filled with school supplies. The students also received a copy of their resumes, which they learned how to create through the program.

Mrs. King said a big part of the program is trying to teach kids not to fear the future. She said she tells them, “Plan to work and work your plan.”

She said this year there was a week-long orientation for the students. The orientation taught students how to set goals, make decisions and appreciate the goals of others, Mrs. King said. She said when the program is completed, it’s not as scary for kids to think about the future and career choices. She said they learn to bring the future into the present and set goals. Ja’Kendra Langford, 12, of Farrell, said her apprenticeship was “fun and challenging.”

Katara Joe, 11, of Farrell, said she learned an important lesson through the program. “If you set your mind to something, dreams can come true,” she said.

Josh Trojak, 13, of Sharon, had an apprenticeship with a local bank. He said he learned how to rebuild a computer, and he was given the computer at the end of his apprenticeship.

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Updated August 13, 1999
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