youth worker

Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)

A typical day when I worked with SYEP was always productive and busy and I loved that. I was constantly answering phone calls, making copies, assisting customers, working in groups and monitoring children. I learned how to break out of my shy shell and communicate with others. I was shown how to correctly approach people in a friendly way. I learned how to move in a quicker pace but I also learned how to take my time for ceratin things. Before working with SYEP, I wasn't used to working with groups because I was so shy and I was always focused on working as an individual. SYEP showed me how to work with groups, to spread my ideas and how to be considerate of other people's ideas. My co-workers were friendly and we all got along with each other. We were helpful towards one another and made each other feel very comfortable. The hardest part of the job was assisting customers because at times customers would be in a bad mood or would be easily angered and I didn't exactly know how to deal with customers like that. I later learned that there were multiple ways to keep an angry customer calm and it suddenly wasn't hard for me anymore. The most enjoyable part of the job was working in groups because I always take pride in teamwork. I believe things are done better and quicker with the help of others and our supervisers were proud of that. SYEP is perfect for work experience.

In New York there are alot of syep program centers so I recommend going anywhere but Queens Community House. They are extremely disorganized and hard to get into contact with. I had to wait 4 hours in my first orientation just for a 2 minute background check and a 5 minute interview. When waiting in line for the site referral I was told I had to go wait in another line because my envelope wasn't with them. After that I went into the office where they told me that none of the job sites that I had selected beforehand were available anymore because they were too full or that they don't work with that place anymore. I had to pick a different place on the spot but the places I had actually wanted weren't available either but I picked a site in the end. They also filled out my work site referral wrong and when I tried contacting them about it through email and call they either didn't answer or just told me to come into the office instead of helping me over the phone. I was guaranteed a job at a place that I couldn't get into contact with and didn't get a schedule for so after multiple other frustrations with the program center I had decided to drop syep all together. All in all, a bad experience that could have been great but wasn't because of my program center.

A typical day at work consisted of arriving and getting settled, then being given an assignment (or multiple assignments); that were either to be completed at the end of the day or in a few work days. Once a week of every week at work, lectures would be held that educated employees of youth about the reality's of the work life. For instance, we learned about finances, taxes, how to write resumes, healthcare, the importance of internships, etc. The management was great, they showed that they truly cared about the employees. This by, the management assisting the employees whenever they requires help and consistently checking up on the employees to see how they're holding up. The hardest part of the job would have to be the specific organization that was needed to organize the files, but overall it wasn't that bad because employees assisted on another through the job. The most enjoyable part of the job would have to be getting work experience, because it gave me an idea of what to expect in the near future. Also, I managed to make two great friends from being coworkers.

I would come in prepared for the planned day as we wait for the kids to enter each of their groups.  Attendance was taken and we would line them up to bring them to their classroom.  Some days we would have a lesson planned and most days we would have a trip planned.  A schedule was kept to follow and there was many activities for the children to enjoy such as going to the playground, doing art and crafts, play games in the gym,reading a book to the class, and many trips.  The management was well organized and communication was well between the workers.  I learned many things since this was my first job.  I learned how to communicate better and get out of my comfort zone.  I learned how to deal with certain situations, and I learned how to manage my time with the schedule given.  The hardest part of the job was dealing with the kids when something would occurred but I learned to talk to my supervisor for help if I was not sure what to do.  The most enjoyable part was going on these many trips, meeting all the children and new people and playing fun activities with them as well as participate in events that took place in the school.

A typical day at work would start with me coming in at 10:00 am and signing in. I would then say hello to my coworkers and supervisors before leaving the room. After that i would make my way to my assigned classroom and start helping the children with anything they needed assistance with. I would then help hand out lunches to the children, and take my 1 hour break inside of the staff room where  my coworkers and I would conversate on topics such as movies, school etc. At syep i learned a lot of patience skill, i say that because working with children under the age of 10 can be quite difficult at sometimes. My supervisors were great! they always were there if we needed help or anything of that sort. My coworkers were fine there was hardly any confrontations at work. The hardest part at work was trying not to get upset with the kids, because they are just kids and 75% of the time what they do is not intentional and they don't mean to hurt anybody or themselves.My most enjoyable part of working is walking in the classroom and seeing the children doing their work and being very productive.

While I consider the supervisors laid-back and understandning a lot of the time, they were also stern when they needed to be. If there was ever a problem with either the children or the co-workers they would be on top of it. They were very understanding and kind if you were to just talk to them. I feel like I developed a kind of fun relationship with the supervisors. Every counselor were assigned two kids to take care of and supervise. The two kids I happened to take care of were very nice. They hardly ever misbehaved and would always listen to directions. Most enjoyable part of the job was definitely the trips we went on. Everyone got on a bus and it was like a mini road trip with the kids and the co-workers. Hardest part of the job were usually dealing with the rowdier kids. The kids who are hard to manage. The counselors would rotate preparing and  handing out food to the groups of kids. There was fun stuff to do on the side. I consider my typical work day there to be usually pretty chill.

Working in a Daycare center has its perks it helps  build up your patience with young children, if you can be patient with a 3-5 year old you can be patient with anyone doesn’t matter the age.  A typical day working in this workplace I came in at around 7:30 served the kids breakfast. I then would wash each kid’s hands and we would get ready for circle time where we would sing good Morning songs and read books. Throughout the day we would feed the kids healthy snacks. around three o clock we would put the kids to sleep and have them take naps for about an hour , they then would wake up and we would feed them lunch then give them educational worksheets teaching them ABC’S and watch educational videos with  them. Some days we would take them outside and to the sprinklers 6:00 was pickup.The hardest part of this job was when the young kids would get into little disputes ,becase every child is different therefore you must handle each situation that a child is in  differently. The most enjoyable part of this job was building a bond with each child and being able to teach them and them listen.

Due to the social distancing requirements of Covid-19, the Summer Youth Enrichment Program was conducted entirely online. I had zoom meetings with my EVC every Monday-Thursday. Every single meeting was tremendously productive, and my three EVC teachers really took the time to get to know me and everyone else in my group personally, and figure out our strengths & what ways we could specifically contribute to the film we were working on. I enjoyed having fun on our zoom meetings while still being able to get work done, and I also enjoyed creating artwork to include in the film. One of the hardest parts of this job was staying focused for hours while working on my phone, because I didn't have a laptop at the time. However, the film came out amazing and I would definitely apply for this job again; it was honestly one of the highlights of my summer.

On a regular day, I would pick up trash and put it into tons of bags. After about two hours we would go on break for one hour. We then would go back to picking up trash for another hour and a half. My second job working in the SYEP program was an assistant. I would file paperwork in school offices and I would hang up posters for those very same schools. I learned that I have more potential to do more productive things for a job. The workers their were very polite and stood on top of everyone to ensure that everyone was doing their job. The hardest part of my job was just waiting. I would have days where I didn't do a lot of work and I would have to wait for more opportunities to be productive. However, I would say that the most enjoyable part of my job was the atmosphere and the people that didn't slack off. Working with other people that don't take their jobs for granted always make me feel like I can work even harder and a lot more things can get done.

Each day I came in, I and my co-workers served the kids a healthy breakfast. After the kids ate we allowed them to go outside with other workers and play games, while some of us cleaned the recreation center. Campers either attended a field trip, went to a pool, or had a movie day with the workers. When we came back from whatever activity we did that day the campers ate lunch. After eating lunch we played team building games either inside or outside. I learned to have patience and I learned that in order to get things done you have to be proactive and to be a leader. My co-workers were fun to be around and they made the job a lot easier because they were actually as interested in the job as I was. The hardest part of the job was thinking of new games to play everyday. The most enjoyable part of the job was seeing that all of the campers were happy and they were having a great summer.

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