2025 Summer Youth Experience Blog
Pictured: Isa Maina, Manjari Manoharan, Aashvi Chauhan, Jada Salter
By: Jada Salter and Aashvi Chauhan
What is VolunteerLeon?
VolunteerLEON is the volunteering hub of Leon County Government and allows you to give back to our community while gaining the valuable skills and developing soft skills. Whether you are a student seeking service hours or an adult looking to make a difference, VolunteerLEON has a position posting for you. This can be a rewarding program with new opportunities always being added.
What does the Summer Youth Training Program entail?
The Summer Youth Training Program is a 5-week program offered to students between the ages of 14-24. The program beginnings with a weeklong orientation with CareerSource where participants have the opportunity to earn certification(s) in work skills. This week with CareerSource also covers basic soft skills and workplace etiquette. This summer youth program helps young people gain work field experience allowing them to contribute to their community while exploring potential career paths before committing to a career. They are able to see what they are capable of through experiential learning and observing long-term employees.
What does it mean to be a
'Volunteer Coordinator Assistant'?
Volunteer Coordinator Assistants fall under the wonderful Mrs. Kay Pelt-Walker. The job is in-person, located at the Leon County Courthouse. The main component of being a volunteer coordinator include reaching out to companies to touch base upon their information. The summer intern requirements for this position include being able to assist with data entry, answer the office phone, and revise websites. The substantial summer project of the 2025-year was to update Leon County's GetConnected volunteer database, on which volunteers can access and reach out to companies their interested in volunteering under. A few others involved revising the "Youth Opportunities Booklet" which focused on volunteer options specifically for juveniles and conducting a survey for all of the program participants and crafting a blog exhibiting their experiences.
Participants Survey Analysis
The participants of the Summer Youth Training Program completed a survey to reflect on their experiences, revealing many similarities across worksites. During the orientation week, the most common impactful takeaways were learning financial strategies, creating mock businesses, developing professional conduct, and utilizing career resources such as MyNextMove.org to plan future endeavors. At their various worksites, the biggest lessons learned were related to office politics and workplace environments. Many participants were inspired to pursue careers in their respective fields after learning strategies for navigating hierarchies, taking initiative, and gaining respect from more seasoned employees.
Hayden Chapman, from Property Appraising, shared that her biggest takeaway was the "need to have good social skills" and "interacting with people all day." Isaiah Owens, from Fleet, said, "I know I want to work in the auto mechanic industry, and I know where to start." When Isa Maina, from Community and Media Relations (CMR), was asked about her takeaways, she responded, "It helped me see how each department plays a part and gave me a broader view of the work being done across the organization."
After answering these questions, 85% of participants said they would recommend the program to others, and 70% indicated they would participate in the program again.
Our Experience as Summer Interns
My name is Aashvi Chauhan, I'm an incoming sophomore in high school, and I interned as a Volunteer Coordinator Assistant under VolunteerLEON. My experience throughout this internship was overall very informative and hands-on. This program helped me understand the components of government, as well as how Leon County organizes events and stays prominent within the community. A day-in-the-life would include starting my day with an informational morning get-together with my supervisor. From there, we would discuss our plan of action for the rest of the day, additionally any relevant events occurring during the week. Afterwards, we go on throughout the day completing all tasks discussed previously. Often, we'd find ourselves collaborating with the CMR department and encountering exciting activities which would be showcased on various social media accounts for Leon County. The few weeks I spent in the office assisted me with evaluating my future career setting. I further developed communication skills, problem-solving tactics, and personal understanding of my own aspirations.
My name is Jada Salter. I am a senior in high school and currently work at VolunteerLEON as a Volunteer Coordinator Assistant. I applied for this opportunity to gain real-world experience-through department meetings and everyday hallway interactions-to help guide my decision about a future career path.
While working at VolunteerLEON, I have learned how to communicate effectively with supervisors, how to network, and how to make small but meaningful contributions to larger projects. Volunteerism has been a defining part of my high school experience and an essential value within the Leon County community.
Throughout this internship, I've seen this principle in action-from trips to local libraries to outreach calls to area businesses-which has been both affirming and inspiring as I consider the future of Leon County Government. Networking with CMR interns has shown me the importance of interdepartmental support when working on large-scale projects, as well as the value of utilizing the diverse skill sets and experiences of each individual.
I've also learned that communication is always a work in progress and should be approached with that mindset. The constant motion within the office-with everyone from commissioners to interns bustling throughout the day-has naturally strengthened my sense of professionalism. Overall, this experience has increased my drive and deepened my passion for the tireless, meaningful work of local government.
