In this article, Step Up's Managing Director Angie Grabski shares with us her first-person experience working with Step Up Women’s Network.

****

Rosy Garcia, 18, spent most of her time in high school figuring out how to be the first person from her family to go to college.

For her, it's not as simple as applying to school. Rosy comes from a neighborhood where college isn't a likely option. Growing up, she encountered gang violence. She commuted to school an hour each way. She took care of her little brother while her parents worked. She's what people in social work typically call “at risk” or "underserved."

Girls like Rosy -- driven and smart -- could use a little exposure to the professional world to help them define their career goals. That’s where Step Up comes in.

Step Up is a national nonprofit organization that helps young women become the next generation of community leaders. I’m the Managing Director of the LA office. That’s where I first met Rosy -- through our Step Up Young Luminaries Program.

In the Step Up Young Luminaries program, we pair young women in high school with internships so the girls can learn the practical, professional resume-building skills they don’t have the chance to acquire through schoolwork alone. In addition to work experience, the girls learn the soft skills like communication, networking and follow-through that are the cornerstones to success.

For less than a $1,000 investment, 38 companies are reaping the benefits of a stellar teen interns like Rosy and funding fully-paid internships in our Young Luminaries Program. The theory behind it is actually quite simple: when people invest in developing teens into successful, professional and philanthropic adults, they’re ultimately investing in their own livelihood. Without programs like Young Luminaries, teens like Rosy may choose a path that includes dropping out of high school – a high-cost financial issue. For each new high school graduate, the state of California gains $169,000 in additional tax revenue and saves $54,000 each on expenditures related to crime, health and welfare.

Despite the numbers, it wasn't an easy sell this year to get companies to take on a new paid employee when most are going through layoffs and budget cuts. Fortunately, it’s not the statistics that motivated our members to help secure these internships: It's the girls. Our amazing girls.

Nobody knows that better than Step Up member Philline Parlan. Parlan is a litigation associate at Jackson Lewis LLP law firm. She hosted Rosy as an intern last year for what ended up being a life-changing experience for them both.

While Parlan was glad to have the administrative help of an intern and happy she could mentor a Step Up teen, she wasn’t expecting to actually learn so much herself.

"Practicing law for several years can wear on any attorney's soul... the grind, the pace, the billable hours, these are all things that a majority of attorneys deal with," Parlan said. "But through the eyes of a barely-17 year old, I realized I worked at a great place full of generous attorneys and staff willing to take the time to teach her career skills."

Parlan found herself stealing away moments throughout the summer to inspire Rosy about the possibilities of life after high school.

"I hung out with [Rosy] and explored her passion for art by attending a field trip with her and her AP Art History Class," Parlan shared with me in an email. "So much fun."

She also assisted Rosy with aspects of her college transition, helping Rosy with her personal statement for college applications and showing her how to asses the financial implications of college.

Ultimately, Parlan helped Rosy see that mistakes were going to be a part of the process and that while many obstacles will cross her path, she can and will overcome them.

"I realized that if the teenager in me could see me now, the anxiety of the work to come would melt away, because in the end, everything worked out."

For Rosy, every day at her internship was an adventure. Remember the first time you interacted with a copy machine? Parlan made sure to give Rosy a well-rounded experience, allowing her to work with different women in various departments throughout the law firm. Rosy also got to meet all the non-lawyer professionals who help keep the firm running. The biggest lesson Rosy took away from her experience? The importance of being a good communicator.

In preparation for her internship, Step Up provided workshops on the importance of networking, appropriate office attire, goal-setting and how to identify personal strengths. Through Step Up, Rosy has grown into a confident, college-ready woman who’s found a potential career path in government to fuel her passion for helping people.

Rosy graduated high school this year, and Parlan was there to applaud her achievement. This fall, Rosy will start classes at Mills College, an all-girls school she visited and fell in love with during Step Up’s 2008 Bay Area College Tour.

By leveraging the resources and passion of our members, Step Up is able to help teens on their path to graduating high school, getting into college and preparing for a successful professional life.

Photo of Rosy Garcia courtesy Ellice Schwartz. Photo of Philline Parlan and Rosy Garcia courtesy Step Up.

By Angie Grabski of Tonic.  For more latest news on good news, visit Tonic.com