Daniel E. Lopez, Seamens House Prospect Park YMCA

I've often said that if I were going to chose my own internship from those offered in the NYHS Program, Seamens House would be the one for me. Of course Danny stepped up and volunteered for the position before I had the chance...darn!

The Seamens House is a nonprofit arm of the YMCA of greater New York whose mission is to support and aid seafarers at port in New York City. During most of the 70-year history of this organization, seafarers from around the world were provided comfortable YMCA housing while on shore leave in NYC. Today, the Seamens House provides permanent housing to many retired seafarers but due to the highly efficient nature of today's ocean cargo system, there is no longer a need for overnight housing.

Today the Seamens House still provides invaluable services to crew members on board large container vessels. These ships now dock in the NY/NJ container terminals usually for no longer than 24 hours. On a typical day, Herb Reiss, director and coordinator of the organization, will travel to meet two or more ships docked in the area. On most Thursdays in the past four months, Danny has been able to accompany Mr. Reiss on his adventures in supporting the seafarers. This past Thursday, I was lucky enough to travel with both of them out to Howland Hook terminal, located on the western shore of Staten Island.

We boarded a relatively "small" ship (see above photos), which was in the process of having its full containers unloaded and empty ones put in place. This particular ship was a German owned vessel with a 22-member crew representing 11 nationalities, the majority of whom were Sri Lankan and Kerabatian (south Pacific island nation). The Captain was British and most of the officers were Sri Lankan. Herb, Danny, and I carried aboard loads of used books, clothing, toiletries, and small individually wrapped Christmas gifts. The crew was extremely appreciative and very interested in what we had to offer. On any given day, Herb will provide these basic services, along with health and exercise classes, and the option for shore transportation if sailors have their visas in order. On this day, several of the ship's officers asked to take a shopping trip for electronic items, so we hopped in the Seamens house minivan and headed over to the Staten Island Mall to visit Circuit City and Best Buy. We spent almost two hours wondering around with three Sri Lankan men who couldn't help but seem like kids in a candy store. Mostly they were interested in laptops, portable hard drives, and DVD's.

After the Mall trip we returned to the vessel hoping to meet the captain and get a tour of the bridge. Unfortunately, the captain was in the middle of his afternoon nap, so Danny and I continued talking with the first mate about the nature of his work. It turns out he is 32 years old, spent six years in the Sri Lankan merchant marine academy and is now preparing to take his Captain's exam. All of the men we met, spoke very highly of the seafarers life and encouraged Danny to pursue such a career. Though container ships may not be his ultimate calling, it was certainly apparent to both of us that it is an enjoyable, adventuresome, and fairly lucrative career. Danny and I both ackowledged that The Harbor School should definitely be preparing students to develop careers in the maritime industries and specifically offer options for students to learn about becoming an international seafarer.

The AFL-CIO's Seafarers International Union has a merchant marine school in Piney Point, Maryland that offers a comprehensive training program and guaranteed career placement. With the support of the Seamens House and others in the industry, The Harbor School could be in an excellent position to build a partnership with this school and begin sending qualified candidates.

Alfonso Ventura, Pitney Hardin LLP

Alfonso stepped up at the beginning of this program and set his mind on securing an internship position that would further his career ambitions. With no prior experience in the field of law, Alfonso pursued an internship with the prestigious NYC/NJ firm Pitney Hardin LLP. His mentor, Mike Levison, is an attorney specializing in corporate litigations. Typically his cases involve recovering unpaid debts on behalf of banks and corporations. Alfonso assists him in various paralegal type clerical tasks. He has also had the opportunity twice to accompany Mike to depositions and court filing proceedings.

During these first three months of the program, Alfonso has undergone a major process of adaptation and adjustment of expectations. As I see it, he burst into to the world of work with an ambitious open mind and very sharp suits, but little concrete understanding of the reality of business communication. The law firm environment if anything teaches an intern the value of direct communication, as well as diligence and persistence in the face of sometimes tedious work. Alfonso’s coworkers are extremely busy and often under the pressure of deadlines and long hours, which makes it even more imperative for him to assert and express what’s on his mind. These are the fundamental and most important lessons. He’s come a long way in full stride, still eager to find success as an intern in this lucrative field. His mentor Mike is nonetheless amazingly patient and encouraging. It’s now up to Alfonso to make the most out of this experience by asking the right questions with the right mannerisms, and vigorously pursuing all the available knowledge in the field.

Krystal Hinds-Dunbar, Executive Health Exams

In this particular internship, Krystal has the unique opportunity to learn a model of truly comprehensive health care. Her internship is with a company called Executive Health Exams whose mission is to provide the fullest possible range of health care services to clients with the assumption that this type of health care should be universal. EHE works similar to an employer health insurance provider except the organization provides all services in house. When an employer or company signs up for the EHE program, its employees (ideally not only the executives) are provided with a comprehensive program including preventative screenings, internist visits, and ongoing health counseling. Needless to say this model provides Krystal with direct exposure to various professional fields, from the medical to the administrative.

Krystal's mentor, Dr Susan Spear set up the internship in order to give the full range of exposure to all departments within the company. Currently she is working primarily with the patient records but spends at least one to two hours per week assisting nurses in the clinic. She is extremely competent in all of her work related responsibilities and has a great rapport with coworkers. Most importantly, Krystal understands the basic concept of communication and consistency. People can rely on her, she's confident and has great sense of humor. This girl is going places!

Braulio DeJesus, Global Kids

In one word, Braulio is reliable. His mentor Jill Bonitas is very appreciative of his contributions to the Global Kids office. Braulio goes to Global Kids once a week and in this four hour period completes an amazing amount of clerical work, research, and even graphic design. For all who are not familiar with this outstanding educational nonprofit, GK is in the business of providing workshops and professional developments around issues of global citizenry, human rights, and international politics. GK works with several high schools around the city and also has its own youth leadership council which meets weekly in their Soho office. They also host an annual conference on youth and human rights and send select groups of student participants to various countries around the world for educational exchange programs.

For the past few weeks, Braulio had been researching web design firms and compiling notes for a presentation to the entire staff. The staff met last week and actually chose the firm Braulio had recommended to design the new GK website. This was definitely something to be proud of. He is currently working on a moving plan for the office which will happen in April. During my visit, Jill mentioned that Braulio has had an introductory training in the Adobe Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop and Indesign. He will hopefully be using these tools in the upcoming months as he begins to get graphic design requests from GK staff members and is able to complete them on his own. So far he has been immersed in the office management side of things, which in itself is extremely helpful in gaining insight into the mission of the organization. I think however, it would be very helpful at this point for Braulio to go out to a school site and observe a GK workshop or regular class. He needs to work directly with educators, not only for the sake of learning the tricks of the trade, but most importantly to bring out his interpersonal and public speaking skills. Braulio actually has two separate internships, but this one in particular has the potential to bring about enormous growth in character and intellect. Go Braulio!

Jenny Rodriguez, C.R. Cushing Maritime Architects

I could have sat for hours yesterday listening to Jenny and her mentor Ron Williamson discuss the many facets of this company's work. CR Cushing is one of the world's premiere maritime architectural and engineering firms, designing world class vessels and marine installations for the last 38 years. Jenny is in an outstanding position to learn highly specialized technical knowledge that would be extremely valuable if she pursued a career in any aspect of the maritime industries. As of now she is basically the assistant to the office manager, completing whatever clerical tasks and special projects that are assigned to her on a daily basis. The office is relatively small for the scale of its operations; three main partners, four or five designers, and three clerical staff.

Yesterday happened to be a very busy deadline day, as the entire office was frantically trying to complete the pumping system schematics for a 160-person cruise ship that is being built in Nova Scotia. Drawings were spread out all over the boardroom and the conversations seem to be very focused on the power and positioning of various pumps throughout the vessel. Besides the cruise ship, the company is also under two other major design deadlines. They've designed a unique self-unloading gypsum carrier which is now being constructed in Brazil. They've recently finished the detail designs for a floating pool in a barge to be used by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and this project is currently in the final stages of construction. In addition to these projects for which the firm is constantly being consulted, the owner Charlie Cushing is one of the world's foremost expert witnesses in maritime related litigations and is currently working with the Spanish government in various trials related to the sinking and spilling of an American oil tanker off the Spanish coast two years ago. He is also a renown expert on maronite, the maritime equivalent of drywall, which until the late 1980’s was often composed of 100% asbestos, and is therefore now at the center of many legal battles.

I was in some ways envious of Jenny’s internship in that she is exposed to the interworkings of these projects and expert knowledge on a regular basis. They key for her is not to rely on a process of osmosis (being passive) for her learning, but to actively seek knowledge, ask detailed questions, follow up with the designers when they have time, and make the most out of this extraordinary experience. This is true for all interns, but in this obscure field full of overlapping knowledge areas, Jenny has more than most on her plate.

Melissa Flambert and Tariana Munoz, NY League of Conservation Voters

In the final hour of today's workday, I made my way to the financial district to visit Melissa Flambert and Tariana Munoz at the New York League of Conservation Voters. Melissa has been a solid NYLCV intern since the program began in October, while Tariana just came on board last week. According to their mentor Joshua Kleinberg, Melissa has been consistently productive in all the tasks assigned to her. She provides a happy presence for an already friendly and focused office environment. Tariana's first task was to organize and file newspaper clippings that cover current NYLCV projects. This has given her an excellent opportunity to read up on the organization's work and gain a more complete contextual understanding. In general, the interns' work clearly supports the NYLCV's mission to educate, evaluate, endorse, and elect. The League has a unique niche as a behind-the-scenepoliticalal advocacy group without a large grassroots membership base. Part lobbyist, part research, and part publicity machine, the League seems to be extraordinarily successful in its efforts to influence the electoral and policy making process on behalf of the environment. As for the exact definition of the "environment" and what that actually means for citizens, we can only trust that what's good for the planet is indeed good for the people!

Alex Carrasco, Robert A.M. Stern Architects

What can I say? Alex is vigorously pursuing his dream. From day one, he set his sights on Robert AM Stern Architects and impressed everyone with his already developed sense of professionalism and internal motivation. What more could an aspiring architect ask for than to work in the nation’s premiere architecture firm, with essentially unlimited access to its personnel and archives. Alex is working under Larissa Woo, RAMSA’s director of archives and imagery. His major work includes the labeling and categorizing of the firm’s 270,000 plus slide collection – needless to say this is a very “ongoing” project however not at all tedious for the young architect to be. When I walked in today, Alex was hunched over the light table with a stack of slides in front of him and stacks of design sketches piled on the table around him. He is also creating an organizational matrix of decades worth of sketches, drawings and blueprints representing the evolution of architectural technology and styles over the last 40 years.

By and large, Alex has access to the most extensive collection of professional resources and research materials anyone could possibly dream of. There is an extensive library of books and magazines, which he is free to peruse. Most importantly, Alex is certainly not shy about approaching his coworkers for professional expertise. He has developed an excellent rapport with the firm’s managing partner, Rob Buford. Mr. Buford has been kind enough to sit down at length for an interview and continue to answer Alex’s open-ended questions via email. After my visit today, it is clear that Alex is very fortunate to be a member of this extraordinary professional community. With 250 plus employees, this is the nation’s largest architecture firm, yet it somehow still maintains a distinct sense of quality and craftsmanship that is palpable to a casual visitor such as myself

For the time being, Alex’s plate is extremely full. He is compiling his research on the history of the firm and the development of the field itself. He aims to focus specifically on the use of LEED certification in modern buildings, which for those who are unfamiliar is a rigorous set of federal building standards for energy efficiency and environmental design. Alex has also been able to tap into the firm’s in-house training classes in digital design tools, beginning with an introduction to the Adobe suite and Photoshop. Before June he’ll have the opportunity to take advanced classes in other architecture specific applications. All of this experience should help to put him at the top of his class at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute starting Fall of 2007.

Janet Mendez, Bromley Companies

Lately Janet Mendez has become very fascinated by the world of real estate development. Throughout the course of this semester’s internship, Janet has evolved from being set on a career in social service to being open to the possibilities of a career in the private (for profit) sector. I think this is a brilliant transition, and I'd even go so far to say that the world needs more women like Janet in real estate development and more men like Donald Trump in social work. Yes, let’s turn the tables for the better.

This internship has proven to be highly beneficial for all parties involved. The Bromley Company is a small real estate development firm located on 5th ave and 17th st. The firm has additional offices and holdings in Florida and Illinois. Janet works most closely with the firm’s office manager, Beverly Burchet and the Director of Strategic Planning and Business Development, Nicholas Haines. Thus far, Janet’s most substantial work has consisted of compiling a database of all hard copy file contents for each of the firm’s holdings. She has progressed through ten or more horizontal file drawers stuffed with years of tenant and vendor contracts. As her mentor Beverly said to me today, “these files are our business” and therefore Janet’s work has most certainly been meaningful and valuable for the firm.

Until now, the Bromley internship was Thursday only, simply because the firm had never hosted a high school intern and was unsure how such a situation would pan out in terms of matching available work with the intern’s skill level. Last week Janet suggested she begin coming both Tuesday and Thursday. Both Nick and Beverly agreed in large part because they have been so convinced by Janet’s enthusiasm and competency. The databasing project is nearly complete and Janet will now move on to a new project, much less clerical and more research based. Under Nick’s guidance, she will be researching development prospects for the firm, specifically in lots adjacent to city post offices. Janet will be looking at how to go about leasing the post office’s air rights for commercial development -- an interesting and potentially lucrative concept.

Rosario Figueroa and Diane Taveras, The Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union

When I stopped in to the Credit Union on Tuesday, Rosario and Diane were finishing the tedious yet very necessary task of assembling the monthly membership statements. Stuffing envelopes is not the most glamorous intern activity, but one that is crucial to a small organization such as the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union. In addition to helping with mailings, Rosario and Diane have been assisting their mentor Bartley in everyday clerical tasks such as filing member documents and updating member databases.

The interns have also been working on several ongoing projects, which provide them a more in depth perspective on the inter-workings of this small community based lending institution. The first project involves compiling a loan tracking database, which will be used to assist in determining trends in loan repayment. By entering member data into the system, the interns have a learned a great deal about the process of granting and tracking loans for both small businesses and individual members. Rosario and Diane have also been able to help out in translating credit union documents for Spanish speaking members.

Another exciting prospect that we discussed on Tuesday was the idea of setting up an ongoing public survey project for the interns. Specifically, they would conduct surveys in and around local check cashing stores to determine characteristics of the local “unbanked” population. The survey would ask about banking history, provide information about the credit union’s services, and possibly offer incentives to join.

Using the community connections of the credit union and its mission of local economic development, the interns are well supported in their research and creative projects. Diane and especially Rosario are benefiting greatly from their exposure to an array of technical skills and professional competencies. As a result of this experience, they will be well equipped to pursue a career in the world of finance, accounting, and community banking.

Anali Vasquez and Janet Mendez, Brooklyn Boatworks

Brooklyn Boatworks is a grassroots nonprofit-educational organization started by two naval architects named Jeremy Wurmfeld and Carl Persak. For the past two years, Jeremy and Carl have set up their shop in the Carroll Gardens based School for Collaborative Studies. They teach the principles and mechanics of basic boat building and indeed they assist the students in constructing an 8-foot wooden rowboat. This year Anali Vasquez joins Brooklyn Boatworks as a full-fledged teaching assistant and naval architect in training. This is the first year that the organization has taken on an intern and according to Carl, it seems to be working out exceedingly well. Janet also began attending Boatworks workshops on Tuesdays because her internship at Bromley Companies was only intending to host one day a week. However due to Janet's stellar performance, Bromley would like to have her for both days and she has accepted.

Rest assured Anali holds it down on her own. On Thursday she works at the site independently preparing Tuesday's lessons and setting up the room. She is in continual phone contact with her mentors Carl and Jeremy and is directly supervised if need be by the assistant principle of the School for Collaborative Studies. She has designed several basic marine engineering lessons in a progression leading toward a complete understanding of density. This includes basic concepts of area, volume, and mass. Anali designs these lessons using her own personal experience and a maritime curriculum guide produced specifically for elementary students. In her own words, the kids "get it" quickly and she has been able to move quite quickly in her coverage of the material.

During the Tuesday afternoon workshop which I was fortunate to observe, there were 6 kids working simultaneously on lofting (tracing designs, cutting, and fitting boat parts) while another 3-4 worked in the hallway with Anali and Janet on the engineering lessons. Everything seemed to work quite smoothly . Kids looked very engaged and could understand and appreciate the entire process by seeing two finished boats from years past. Indeed they seemed to be getting it quite readily, and even having fun.