Goodbye Summer Interns!

This summer we were lucky enough to have 2 summer interns. When most people think of internships, they think about runnings errands and other small tasks around the office. While we did have the interns work through some office tasks, the majority of their work had them onsite transforming vacant lots, creating art boards, and helping start new programs. We feel it is instrumental to have youth onboard, especially working with our Green Playces Initiative. Our internal research and experience have shown that having young people help train other youth on-site is not only effective but the kids connect more to trainers who are their own age. Our team is in the process of working through a Business Plan for the Green Playces Initiative (via the Heinz Endowments) and having youth on our team is something that we hope to continue moving forward.  The insight that young people provide is instrumental in creating effective programs and mentorship opportunities.

Bree is a sophomore at Carlow University and this is her second summer working with GTECH. Bree wants to be an art educator and has a tremendous eye for design and art. She was a huge asset on-site while thinking about designs and color choices.  I always valued her input working through program design and building out lots.

It was a pleasure to have Bree intern with GTECH again this summer. Her eye for design was a huge asset to us as she assisted with some communications and marketing materials. Bree’s willingness to jump right in and share her ideas made for a fun and productive summer. -Anna

 I am so glad Bree came back to be a part of the team this year! Bree is a wonderful artist and her skills came into play many times throughout her time here. She did a great job jumping into design work on our GSI poster, and even tried her hand at demographic research. I am really going to miss her sense of humor and her kind and giving personality. -Ariam

Tom will be a junior at Winchester Thurston High School. Tom is excited about building, construction and helping communities build out vacant spaces.  His creativity and insight into designs and construction processes came in handy.

Although Tom was only in the office a few hours each week (partially due to the fact that he was constantly on-site helping to build out projects) he demonstrated an amazing level of commitment. Tom is friendly and easy-going and I appreciated his enthusiasm for the work that GTECH does. I hope he continues to stay involved even after school gets started, it’d be fun to have him as a volunteer at future work days. -Anna

Tom was awesome on the ReGen Joint Open Space Plan work. I got to know him during site visits in the Northside, and he was a huge help. We even got to visit the goats near Fowler Park – I am pretty sure that was his FAVORITE day here ;)-Ariam

We were lucky to have both Tom and Bree with us this summer and wish them well moving through school.