HAMILTON, Ohio — Braedyn Jackson is Booker T. Washington Community Center’s newest staff member thanks to a Hamilton internship program.

What You Need To Know

  • The Citywide Hamilton Internship Program (CHIPS) is a 12-week program that helps young adults of color land job opportunities

  • Interns take educational courses and even volunteer in the community

  • Braedyn Jackson was one of the interns in the pilot program

  • He interned at the Booker T. Washington Community Center and landed a job there afterward

 

This is a job he says he enjoys. And playing basketball with the kids is probably one of his favorite activities. 

“What I enjoy the most is just being around the kids and seeing them smile and having fun here,” Jackson said.

Jackson found out about this fun opportunity at the community center through the Citywide Hamilton Internship Program, also known as CHIPS.

“We wanted something that was going to connect the community and the youth in the community to better opportunities and foster a pathway of success,” said Pope, the co-founder of the program.

It’s a 12-week internship for people of color between 16 and 30 years old.

Jackson said the program has helped him with his goal of becoming a firefighter. And with Pope's help, he said he has been learning new things and meeting new people.

“She brought me closer to Chief Mercer, herself and all kinds of other people.”

Throughout the 12 weeks, Jackson worked at the center, participated in community service and took educational classes.

Pope said the youth learned “anything (from) setting an alarm clock, to logistics, to understanding their brand as an individual and understanding the companies brand, how those two mesh,” Pope said.

Co-founder Chamina Curtis said the program not only benefits the students but the community as well.

“Oftentimes people of color don’t have access or availability to resources. This provides a connection, a collaboration between them, between employers, between resources just within our community and that’s what makes the win-win situation or proposition so important for everyone involved,” Curtis said.

As for Jackson, he said the knowledge he's gained from the program has inspired him to give back to the community.

“I appreciate the mentorship because I love how people mentored me and I love being able to mentor younger people because they can have a great experience like I did,” he said.

For more information about the program, visit Citywide Hamilton Internship Program.