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!