The Arduous Job Search

Late into my junior year of high school I began thinking about my plans for the summer. I knew that I needed to get a job--my mom made this quite clear to me. The idea of employment was a foreign concept to me; I had spent my past summers luxuriously, whether at sleep away camp, playing soccer in Barcelona or roaming Tanzania. I had never had a job, nor had I ever been responsible for anything other than doing my homework or maybe getting myself to soccer practice. I have been babysitting for the same family on a weekly basis since I was 10--work that did not require an application, a résumé or an interview. I also hadn't spent an entire summer in Brooklyn for as long as I could remember. 

I didn't know where to begin. I was overwhelmed with options... did I want to work at a café? An ice cream store? Urban Outfitters? I searched around for a place that was offering reasonable hours and a task that wouldn't be painfully boring. I came across the day camp I used to go to--Park Explorers--and remembered that the director had offered me a job when I was younger. I printed out the application and began filling it out. By page 3 I had realized that I was not interested in spending 9 hours a day, 5 days a week with screaming, sweaty kids. I didn't want to be a camp counselor-- it was too standard. I was looking for something unique, something that gave back to my community, something that I would remember 40 years from now. My mom was growing impatient with my indecisiveness and my lack of success. When April rolled around I was getting a little nervous myself. 

I first found out about Groundswell Community Mural Project through a friend who had already applied. I immediately went home and looked it up. Groundswell is a non-profit

 organization that uses "art as a tool for social change by creating high quality works of public art in under-represented neighborhoods." I realized that I had been driving past Groundswell murals for years but I hadn't associated them with the name. I also didn't know that they were done by kids. I loved the idea of using art to explore social issues, and I applied that day.

I attend The Beacon School, a public high school in Manhattan with a very politically aware student body. During school vacations it is not uncommon for a Beacon student to go to South Africa, New Orleans, Ecuador, or Thailand to do community service. Don't get me wrong-- I love to travel; however, I think that there are numerous community service opportunities that go unattended closer to home in New York City. One of the reasons I was attracted to Groundswell was because it enables city teenagers to serve their own communities. 

I entered a lottery for the Student Youth Employment Program (SYEP), a government program that provides New York City youth ages 14-25 with summer employment and educational opportunities. After about a month I was notified that I had made the lottery and would start work with Groundswell on July 1st, 2009.