Summer 2008 Research Internships in Positive Youth Development [06/10/2008]

by Tiffany White

In 2003, the USF Collaborative began a summer internship program to involve local teens in gathering information and making recommendations on how communities can create more resilient youth. This internship is made possible through gifts in memory of Amy Kohlberg Quinlan, former faculty member in the Department of Child and Family Studies, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute and a contribution by the USF Honors College. For the second year in a row, the focus of this summer’s 2008 research internship centers on positive youth development in the community.

The Collaborative’s goal is to offer a rich research experience that allows teens to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to return to school ready to create awareness among their peers about the importance of community engagement and youth involvement. The interns are coached by USF faculty and graduate students who are studying the roles youth and adults play in creating schools and communities to help today’s youth succeed and flourish.

The 2008 Amy Kohlberg Quinlan Internship class is the largest group to date; the class is comprised of 10 gifted and highly motivated youth from all over the Bay Area. This summer’s roster includes Yashobha Ranaweera and Karianne Rivera, both rising Seniors from Freedom High School; Adam Jeup, incoming Freshman to USF’s Honors College; Victoria Simenson, incoming Freshman to USF’s Honors College; Christopher Butler, rising Junior from Brooks-DeBartolo High School; Christian Williams, rising Senior from Wiregrass Ranch High School; Kelsey Banker, rising Junior from H.B. Plant High School; Seung-eun Jang, incoming Freshman to USF’s Honor’s College; Samantha Kulangara, rising Senior from King High School; and Breonni Sawyer, rising Junior also from King High School.

These members of our youth research team will investigate organizations, events, activities, individuals, and programs working to promote positive youth development. Interns will conduct interviews with both adults and teens, conduct background research and reviews of the literature, analyze and interpret the results of focus groups, make presentations and write articles about what they discover. This summer, the interns will focus on two projects - the first is KnowHow2Go, a multiyear, multimedia effort funded by the American Council on Education, Lumina Foundation for Education and the Ad Council to encourage young people to prepare for college. Our interns will visit several sites throughout Hillsborough county and help other youth prepare for college, as well as provide strategies that can help them become better candidates for college. The second project, precipitated by the America’s Promise Alliance recently naming Tampa as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People, will involve teens in interviewing and surveying youth to acquire their views and opinions on what makes Tampa such a great city for youth, and what improvements might make it even better.

Throughout the course of the summer, each student will have the opportunity to study a different aspect of each project and make a unique contribution on the subject of mentoring and productive youth-adult relationships. This looks to be a rewarding summer for the interns, as well as for the faculty, graduate students, and community members involved. We wish them all the best as they embark on their voyage of discovery.

USF is one of only 10 research universities in the nation designated as community engaged. This is exemplified by the USF Collaborative for Children, Families, and Communities’ dedication to serving the role of a facilitative partner and resource for faculty, students, and community members in order to strengthen community capacity, build social and political capital, enrich the educational experience of students, and facilitate shared community-based research through the coordination of civic engagement, effective service learning, and community collaborations.