At Enterprise for Youth, our Program Assistants are key players who work closely with Enterprise staff and Job Coaches to ensure a positive, welcoming, and smooth experience for all Enterprise interns.

During the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) held in San Francisco this fall, Dominick, an Enterprise for Youth participant with a passion for environmental justice, found himself sharing breakfast with world leaders. 

Choosing what to focus on in college is no small feat. Enterprise for Youth helped Carmen Ng explore her options, find her focus, and pursue her passions. Having access to unique opportunities like our Job Readiness Training, Career Exploration Program, and our many paid internships sets our young people up for success and helps them carve out their career paths.

Youth like Kristel succeed because Enterprise for Youth shows them they can. Individualized support is a key ingredient in our job readiness and internship programming, allowing young people the opportunity and confidence to discover their skills and passions.

Enterprise for Youth is a central employment resource, where youth learn job-readiness skills and soft skills — and practice those skills in supportive, paid internships. If you are joining or thinking about joining an Enterprise program this year, here is some advice to keep in mind! 

Youth Council is a year-long leadership development internship. Youth Councilors hone personal and professional skills through attending workshops, planning events, representing Enterprise at events, and serving as a youth voice to the staff and board of Enterprise. 

Choosing a career path can be as intimidating as it is exciting, and for most youth, understanding the full breadth of the careers they can pursue is near impossible.

“What is working for Enterprise like?” From October to May, we had seven exceptional Enterprise youth interning for us. We asked each of them this question. Keep reading to see what they said!

High school senior Michael Buck gained a new perspective on the power of opportunity by training Enterprise intern Zachary Thornton while working at Starbucks. Michael and Zachary began working at Starbucks as part of Enterprise for Youth’s Direct-to-Hire program.

It’s not often we get the opportunity to try something new outside our career focus. Jasmine Gong got to push herself outside her comfort zone in her internship with Jenny Lemons in the Fall of 2022.

Climate Career Corps intern Felix Lin talks about his illuminating experience interning with Refuse Refuse.

Lesli Mejia de Paz became independent at the age of 15. “I separated myself from my parents and all my family [in Guatemala] because I came to the United States looking for opportunities and education.” Lesli came to San Francisco motivated to expand her horizons and to learn English. She enrolled in Mission High School and Enterprise for Youth where she completed four internships over three summers and gained valuable skills. Through our program, Lesli discovered her professional ambitions to become an environmental engineer.

We talked with Enterprise youth Baijian Xie about his summer internship at BAVC, during which he wrote and produced a short film as part of a team.

Career Experience intern, Aja Bhooma, discusses his time interning for Old Navy.

Lamiya Cotton says that her goal in life is “to be the most fashionable person on the news.” At the age of 19, as a current communications major at the University of San Francisco with a few Old Navy internships under her belt, she is well on her way.

This past August Enterprise for Youth hosted our first op-ed competition as part of our Climate Career Corps internship. In this competition, youth were encouraged to read and respond to the book Girls Who Green the World: Thirty-Four Rebel Women Out to Save Our Planetby Diana Kapp. 

The inaugural summer of Climate Career Corps employed 250 youth

Climate Career Corps interns worked in green jobs this summer completing a total of 17,700 paid internship hours. 193 youth worked in San Francisco parks in their first year in the program, and 43 youth interns worked in a portfolio of green organizations and businesses. All 236 interns were supported by fourteen Program Assistants, all of whom were Enterprise alumni. 

Each year Enterprise nominates youth to receive the Posse Scholarship, and this summer six semi-finalists were selected! We hope all six of these bright young minds are selected for the third and final round and receive the scholarship.

Enterprise youth completed 402 paid internships this summer! Youth gained direct work experience in a range of settings. Some youth worked at the UCSF Dyslexia Center, while others learned financial services skills at First Republic Bank. Meanwhile, other youth learned about running a small business while working for Jade Chocolates, Little Baobab, or other local entrepreneurs. We launched our Climate Career Corps with 236 youth learning about our vital and fragile ecosystem in partnership with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco Recreation and Parks, and a portfolio of green businesses.

What started as a way to pay for Alice’s viola, blossomed into an enduring professional relationship that helped both Alice and her employer, Cornelia Hoppe, grow and learn. We chatted with Cornelia and Alice about how the Job Bank brought them together and what they learned during their time working together.