Collective Wisdom on Hosting Interns

Thank you for your interest in mentoring a REVtern. Your participation provides REVterns the opportunity for both personal and professional growth, and we know that everyone will learn something meaningful in this experience. We have carefully matched your interests with theirs, and are confident that you will find your connection to be mutually beneficial. Please take a moment to review these sage pieces of advice from your community of hosts. The goal of this guide is to offer collected wisdom, and illustrate the ways we can all invest in our future (youth).

We are about to launch our Inaugural REVternship Program at Revolution School. I say launch, but we’ve already begun. Students have identified their strengths to guide their interviewing skill practice. They’ve started to hone their best 30 second intro (I need work on that) and know the factors that contribute to showing up with confidence.?We are about to engage in choosing their own personal board of directors. They are primed.

The goal of the REVternship is to grow student agency in students’ learning and their community connections. They are not just job exposure, but authentic engagement.

REVternships involve:

• A warm and connected relationship with an organization or person
• A meaningful learning experience for both the young person and organization?
• Compensation in the form of a stipend for meaningful work

TO PREPARE to come together, we asked our warm and connected community, ranging from very experienced internship hosts, to recent interns themselves, the following question:

“As a REVternship host, what one essential thing you should make sure to do to ensure the experience is successful?”

The answers we collected truly emphasize that our community clearly see REVterns and all young people are an investment and should be treated as such.?

1. Meet before the first day.

One of the goals of interning is to connect as people and grow our crew. For this reason, a motto we have is “People First.”

Evan Keith, of Uplift Philly, shared,?

“We have to show up as humans before we can show up as employers and employees. Meeting face to face before any projects or work happen is essential to recognizing that connections and relationships make for better outcomes. ”

2. Make the Mutual Benefits Clear

Make sure the REVtern knows what's in it for them: learning a skill, engaging with people, training, a strong letter or recommendation, and quite possibly a job. And what benefits will hosts expect?

Joshy Kim of the Philadelphia non profit FulPhil expressed,

“I’d love to know how we can support the potential of your students to do well and do good! I'd also love to know how we can put your students first during their experience here. After all, as much as they're helping us, we also want to help them!”

3. Be Curious

Chekemma Fulmore Townsend, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network advises,?

“Be curious and intentional when engaging with students. Young people succeed when relationship is established.”

4. Write Clear Objectives?

Taylor Nevins of Philly Youth Stars encourages,?

“Before bringing on interns, make sure you have very clearly defined scope for the period, with clear objectives.”?

If that is not the expectation of the young person, or if there is nothing productive to do during their commitment, it will feel unsucessful on both ends. And the National Association of Colleges and Employers suggests:

• Co-create learning goals??Here are some resources.?
• Capture work samples interns can share with future employers.
• If possible, give interns a safe space to fail, and learn from it.

5. Don’t Assume You Know

Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend continues,?

“Don't assume you know what they are thinking or doing, or might be able to do. Make room for the perspective of the REVtern and empower them to participate by sharing cultural norms, and encouraging participation and including them in your regular meetings.”

6. Be Human

Deb Borden, a founding teacher at Revolution School and Director of Professional Development and Research at the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools reminds us,

“It's summer and the kids need a break from drudgery work (not that [school] academics are drudgery!) Be clear in your expectations and have high standards for their behavior and work ethic. Every once in a while, treat them to lunch or a Starbies.”

7. Give Them a Meaningful Experience?

Projects that are interesting can help both young people and the organization grow.?

Alex Brunson, a musician, poet and one of the founders of Per Capita Bank shares,

“Creating a meaningful experience for the REVtern will ensure that it is successful for all involved. A meaningful experience brings together professional learning, interpersonal connection, career context. If you can provide those three things, students will have a great time.”

8. Find Out What Motivates Them?

Many of our School of Thought co-creators offered that getting to know young people personally and taking an interest in what interests them goes a long way to making the experience successful.?

Tara Matthews from Temple University’s Health Care System shared,

“It wasn't until I came to have one-on-one meetings with an intern last summer when they revealed what they really want and what motivated them to come to work every day. I plan to speak to my REVtern one-on-one as much as possible, and to really listen and understand them.”

9. Provide and Seek Feedback?

Praise them when appropriate for good work . . .and make sure it's authentic. And give constructive feedback. This is why they are with you - to learn!

And it goes both ways.??

Exit interviews help you properly learn from and with an intern. Such a conversation reveals what might be valued in the intern experience and what they wish had been different. Encourage interns to offer ideas for your company to make a more rewarding program in the future and be sure to offer your sincere thanks for their time and energy."So, how did we do? What can the company do better next summer?" Are always great questions.?

Other means of evaluation: Could the intern be a possible future hire or a returning intern? Do they want to come back??

If the internship was a positive experience, offer to provide a letter of recommendation for future job and scholarship applications.?

10.?Check In Often

Rebecca Fabiano, the founder and Executive Director of FabYouthPhilly recommends checking in often. She shares this extensive and thoughtful list of open questions with REVterns, which she recommends asking between the first week and third week of any experience.?

• What are you taking away from this discussion??
• How will you prioritize these tasks??
• Where do you think you might get stuck and what can I do to help you avoid that (or if you do get stuck, how can I help you get unstuck)??
• What's circling around your head before you leave today??
• What are two things you can do to prepare for this meeting??
• What would you like to learn while you are here??
• What do you think will be the most challenging thing for you in this experience??
• What supports might you need to be successful?

We know that hosting an intern (or a REVtern in our case) can be impactful, meaningful and fun. It also requires intentionality.?

Interested in learning more about REVternships? Contact [email protected]. Interested in contributing to this effort? Donate Now.