A group of young people has worked hard all summer at The Attic’s internship program.
Since July, 45 student interns at The Attic have spent 20 hours a week working on various projects. The internship program has been running for five years and is connected to the Philadelphia summer WorkReady program, a citywide initiative managed by Philadelphia Youth Network.
The Attic’s six-week internship was open to high-school students living in Philadelphia.
The students were given the opportunity to take part in one of two sections, theater or media. Theater classes consisted of writing plays and monologues based on key terms such as misogyny, homophobia and transphobia. Media included writing and directing a radio show.
“I hope they take away some skills, though first I should say that it’s about self-empowerment,” said Jay Grant, associate director at The Attic. “We want them to feel good about themselves and learn some info they can pass on, [as well as] educate other people about who they are and the issues that affect them in society.”
Grant noted that having two sections of the program has been effective; in the past, The Attic offered four or five groups.
“It’s worked better in terms of being able to focus longer on a project; having people splitting up in many different groups, they didn’t have enough time to fully get into the project,” Grant said.
In addition to learning hands-on skills, the youth have also been able to explore intersecting identities, he added.
“Our focus is on intersectionality, so I think the young people really explore what that means in terms of a definition and in general, and then try to apply it personally,” Grant said. “I feel like we’ve seen some people unpack some personal stuff, how they’re impacted in the world, and on some levels share that for the first time with peers and/or other people, and be able to talk through that and see ways they can use that to educate other people.”
Emmanuel, 16, is part of the media internship at The Attic. They discovered The Attic through a guidance counselor at their school.
“I’ve learned to respect others,” Emmanuel said. “I’ve learned to work with teams, and that teamwork is needed to produce any great product. And I’ve learned to learn how to respect people who are different from me.”
Paige, 17, is in the theater program. She said she enjoys hearing different people’s stories, and gaining perspective from both the LGBT and ally peers.
“My biggest lesson that I’m taking away is don’t judge a book by its cover,” Paige said. “Something I hope someone else will take away from it is that young African-American youth and teens in general can come together to perform greatness.”
For more information about the internship program, visit www.atticyouthcenter.org.