By Nina Moini
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Students in one Minneapolis neighborhood say their summer jobs are about much more than making a little money.
On Tuesday, members of the internship program called STEP-UP gave some elected city officials and stakeholders a glimpse into the internship experience.
The program spans across the city of Minneapolis, offering 1,650 students and young adults summer internships.
This year, the program director said most of the growth has come in the East African community and the Cedar Riverside neighborhood.
The family of 15-year-old internship recipient Maryan Mohamed is from Somalia.
Mohamed works to help new immigrants learn to speak English in the Riverside Plaza Tenants Association.
The apartment complex has about 5,000 residents, according to the program manager.
“Our people moved from Somalia for education, so all of our families just want everyone to be successful,” Mohamed said.
Fellow intern Hana Guled said she hopes to someday become a doctor and continue helping in her community in Minneapolis.
“I want to teach people to take care of themselves so they don’t have to rely on anyone else,” Guled said.
The young people in the program said they make around $9 per hour through the city and state-sponsored STEP-UP program.
This year Cedar Riverside has 65 young people working internships across Minneapolis.
STEP-UP Director Tammy Dickinson said this is the most outreach in this neighborhood in the program’s history.
Minneapolis City Council Member Abdi Warsame
Cedar Riverside area councilman Abdi Warsame said some young East Africans have been drawn to local gang activity or radicalization abroad, but most want to do good honest work and find success.
Programs like STEP-UP help “broaden their horizons and instill hope and confidence,” Warsame said.
“In every culture, every group, there will be people who misbehave,” Mohamed said. “All you can do is try to stop it.”
Warsame said cultural differences and language barriers are often big obstacles to finding work, but he hopes the community can use more of what is already available to create different job opportunities for young people.
“We can even use the geographical location [of Cedar Riverside] since we are a block away from Carlson business school, we’re a block away from Augsburg College,” Warsame said. “We are part of the downtown area.”
“I feel like if we all help each other in our community,” Guled said, “then our community will grow and everyone will be able to understand each other and get jobs.”
STEP-UP gives internships to 14- to 21-year-olds each summer. The work ranges from positions in government agencies to small businesses, and even large corporations.