2017 CIIP Program Book 2017 CIIP Program Book | Page 26

Community Partner: HEBCAC YO - Historic East Baltimore Community Action
Coalition Youth Opportunities
Intern: Johnathan Cook
Site Supervisor: Sherry Kizielewicz
What is HEBCAC YO?
In 1999, the HEBCAC Youth Opportunity Center was founded to address the education,
counseling, and career development and training needs of out of school youth in East Baltimore.
The HEBCAC YO staff also connects youth in need of other services such as housing, family
support, and health care with partnering public and community-based agencies.
"I don’t remember exactly what I was expecting my summer at YO Baltimore to look like seven weeks ago
before I started, but I do know that it definitely was not what it ended up being. For one, I remember when
I was telling people what I was going to be doing over the summer, a run-down of my impression of what
my duties were to be usually ended with a casual “and I might help out in the classrooms a little bit too”. I
did not foresee working with a small group of students right on the cusp of completing their GED tests (with
only math in their way) virtually every time they came in the building. I definitely did not expect to be put in
charge of a classroom all day a few times when a teacher could not come in, and most of all, I in no way
thought that I would leave the summer considering the pursuit of a career in education.
YO has truly exposed me to our sub-par education system by putting names, faces, and stories of people I
have met and grown relationships with to a system that fails so many kids like Baltimore City’s, and it has
changed my view on a lot.
A lot of times, it’s easy to feel like you have to do something that is magnificent on paper coming from a top
ten university, whether it’s doing cutting-edge research, pursuing a doctorate, interning on Wall Street, or
moving out to a tech hub like Silicon Valley. It makes sense, too—for the most part, those are the fields
where you make the most money, so of course our most intellectual citizens (based on society’s definition
of intellectual) are going into them. It’s really a shame then that these people, even those with the other
important personality traits and social and emotional skills and intelligence required to be a good teacher,
for the most part, gloss over the idea of “just” being a teacher. The impact you can have on someone in
that position in their life—both good and bad—is tremendous. Putting the most capable people of having
that positive impact on kids and teenagers in that position is just as important as having our brightest minds
trying to solve problems in medicine, law, and engineering (not to mention that if there are more good
teachers, there will be more people to solve problems in all fields!).
My internship has indirectly showed me that the stigma of teaching not being as prestigious as some other
fields is an obstacle that we need to move past as a society." -John
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Taught math and science to
students preparing for GED
tests in small groups and
individually
Managed summer food
program day-to-day and
administrative operations
Designed and built database
for neighboring organization,
Dee’s Place, to collect client
data and information
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