“Filing.”
This is a common answer I get when I ask my clerical interns what type of work they do at their YouthWorks internship. When I think of filing, the first image that comes to mind is stuffing papers into manila folders and sorting them alphabetically into a filing cabinet. But during my recent mid-session review meetings with interns and mentors, I discovered that some interns in the SF YouthWorks program are actually doing something much more challenging.
In meeting with intern Evelyn C and mentor Virna Byrd at the Planning Department, Evelyn reported that she has been “just filing”. But when I asked her to tell me more about the work, she described a major document management effort she had completed to reorganize an entire records room. When she had finished, Evelyn’s work had made it much easier for Planning Department coworkers to find and manage critical records.
It is tremendously rewarding to hear our interns talk about their work in ways that demonstrate that they are completing difficult job tasks and developing new skills along the way. In completing this complex project, Evelyn used significant problem solving and communication skills, and the result benefited her entire office. Great work!
Post Written by Placement Specialist Jerome Anderson