Intern Spotlight: Thalia Andrade Dresses to Impress

In YouthWorks it is very rare for our interns to go to work in full business attire, but there are a few that manage to pull off this difficult task. Thalia Andrade, an intern at San Francisco Airport, is one of the interns who is able to make the transformation from a normal jeans and t-shirt wearing high school student to a professionally dressed intern. She does this every time she attends her internship.

One afternoon on the way to work, Thalia had to stop by the YouthWorks office to meet with me. When she got here, she was dressed in her normal school clothes.  However, before she left, she made sure to change into her professional attire. I was impressed because I could tell that dressing in business attire made her feel empowered and professional.

When asked, Thalia says, “I actually enjoy dressing professionally and feel like I fit in more when I do. At first, I wasn’t very comfortable because I didn’t have a large selection of business clothes. My mentor was very helpful and she set me up with a resource where I was able to get free professional clothes. Now, I look forward to dressing professionally.  In the long-run, dressing professionally will allow me to prepare for my future jobs. I suggest that all interns dress professionally if they are able to.”

It is great to see an intern take the initiative and do what they can to help themselves learn and grow. Dressing professionally is an example of how an intern can develop the right habit that will help achieve future goals.

Written by Employment Coordinator Jerome Anderson