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MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. Mount Vernon teenagers are grateful for the opportunity to work for the city's Youth Bureau this month after long searches for jobs in the private sector yielded no results.
Andrew Doss, who is going into his junior year at Nelson Mandela Community High School, said that he was looking for a job for a year before he finally found employment at the Youth Bureau in a film program. Doss, who is one of many who found employment with the bureau, said that the job, which involves interviewing people and reporting, is more about the experience than the paycheck.
I feel good about it because Im on the positive side of the city of Mount Vernon, Doss said. A lot of teens fall on the negative side because they make the wrong decisions.
Gwendolyn Sparks, who will be a junior at Mount Vernon High School this fall, said that she was looking for jobs at Best Buy and Staples before discovering the opportunity with the Youth Bureau. As did Kaisia Williams, 16, who in hindsight is glad that she was not hired to do retail.
With this job we can have fun while we are learning, Williams said. If I worked at Best Buy Id be staring at shelves all day. It would have just been too repetitive.
Karessa Allen, 15, said that she was skeptical about getting a job with the Youth Bureau. Allen said that getting a job in film with the city wasnt her first choice, but said it is worth doing.
Its not as boring as I thought it might be, Allen said. Ive never experienced something like this but I like it because it is making me better equipped in this field.
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