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Meet DEEL’s SYEP Interns: Kyra and Lul

Contributors: Kyra and Lul, Seattle Youth Employment Interns

Meet Kyra and Lul, two Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP) interns who joined DEEL’s Communications Team for the summer! Work-based learning helps inspire and prepare students with the skills they need to achieve their post-secondary goals. We’re proud to have welcomed these two bright young people to our team to learn about social media management, communication strategy and what it’s like to work at a public agency.  

Hi, my name is Lul and I'm one of the new interns and DEEL.

 Hi, my name is Lul, and I am one of the new DEEL interns from SYEP. I’m a high school senior participating in Running Start, which is basically allows you to earn college credit during junior and senior year of high school. So far, my first year was great! The classes were challenging at times but I got through it and hopefully next year I will be graduating with both my degrees. 

    Since I was a kid, I’ve always been interested in the medical field and wanted to become some type of doctor. I don’t know what pulled me in that direction, but it’s always been an interest of mine and as I got older and closer to graduating, I did my research and became interested in becoming a medical sonographer/ultrasound technician. I wouldn’t say I’m a hundred percent sure about it, but it’s just something I’ve been looking at. 

   I have 11 people in my family – my two parents and 8 siblings, me being the third oldest. I would say the reason I work so hard in school or just in general is because my parents came from another country to a place where the language and lifestyle is so new to them. They are giving up everything to give their children the life they never had and seeing them work so hard raising us all and giving us the world is what pushes me to do better and to get somewhere in life where I can take care of myself and my loved ones with no type of struggle.  

  Some hobbies of mine are just trying new things, going to new places, watching Netflix/reality shows and being outside. I’ve been really excited to work at DEEL because learning communications was a new experience for me, and it was exciting to meet new people and to start working. 

   Because I’m interested in the medical field, I got to focus on learning about youth access to COVID-19 vaccines at DEEL. I learned that even though vaccines are available to the public, many families don’t have the resources or right information to make them want to get up and get themselves and their loved ones vaccinated. I saw that DEEL is trying to get that information out there, remove language barriers, and just help people have a better understanding and education on this topic in different communities.  

  When it comes to social media and communication by government agencies, it’s a lot different and more structured then a normal person using social media. Anyone can get on the internet and spread information and awareness to certain things, but when it’s the government, there are rules and guidelines you have to follow and things have to be a certain way before it’s put out there for the world to see. 

    I’ve done many assignments during my internship and I wouldn’t say I’ve had challenges but it was something new to get use to creating social media posts and different types of posters and images for social media. I would say that was a bit hard at first but I got the hang of it . My internship was a great experience for me and it was something new and different then what I usually go for but I had an amazing time. 

Kyra graduated from Franklin High School, is an incoming freshman at Seattle University, plans to major in Criminal Justice, aspires to be a lawyer, has a twin sister, and loves chocolate.

Hello! My name is Kyra. I am a new intern at DEEL. I graduated from Franklin High School. Interesting facts about me are I will be studying Criminal Justice at Seattle University this fall. My favorite hobbies are reading, watching Netflix and baking. By baking I mean taking the item out of its container and sticking it in the oven. My favorite food is chocolate, and I will never understand why someone decided to put pineapple on pizza.  

At Franklin High School I was in the BSU (Black Student Union) freshman year. I was in Team Read sophomore and junior year. Team Read is after school program that hires high school students to tutor little kids in reading and writing.  

During my internship with DEEL, I wanted to get better at communications and have a new and productive experience. Learning about social media is pretty much a brand new experience for me because prior to DEEL, my only experience was occasionally posting and liking other posts. But throughout this internship, I’ve learned how to design flyers and develop communication strategies. I’ve learned how to draft social media posts and create digital media graphics which was really fun. I also got to do many informational interviews and learn about all the different workings inside of DEEL.  

One of my favorite projects was interviewing people at community-based organizations who were hosting summer programs for youth. Going and meeting people while learning about what they’re doing for the community is not only informative but also fun! Interviewing people was relatively easy, but organizing my notes after the interviews afterward was very difficult.  This was my first time interviewing people so I didn’t know to separate people when interviewing or even pausing in between. As a result, it was very difficult to separate who said what. 

A role model I have is Michelle Obama. She is a very successful and inspiring African-American woman. She was also rather notably the first lady. She also led many successful campaigns such as her education campaign. 

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Providing young people with career exploration opportunities and valuable work experience aligns with DEEL’s mission and desired FEPP levy result of preparing students to achieve their college and career goals. SYEP, hosted through the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department, is a program that connects young Seattleites with paid internships with Seattle’s top employers, labor organizations, and pre-apprenticeship training. To learn more about SYEP, visit their website here.