What 16-year-old wants to get up at 6 a.m. to get ready for work on a summer morning? Carina Cain, along with 32 other students enrolled in Puente’s summer youth employment program, does it four days a week. Cain, 16, is a junior counselor at YMCA Camp Jones Gulch. Her summer internship, part of Puente’s Youth Leadership, Development, and Employment Program, pays her to supervise younger kids enrolled the innovative summer day camp sponsored by Puente and Camp Jones Gulch. Four days a week, she’s usually in the pool by 8 a.m. with her young charges. The early mornings can be rough, but she loves the experience. “I’m excited. This is my first real job, my first time getting actual work experience and getting a paycheck. I feel like that’s a big step toward gaining independence and developing as a young adult,” says Cain, who lives in La Honda. Now in its eighth year, Puente’s summer program empowers local youth to earn an hourly wage while they learn work skills that will serve them in the professional world, says Rita Mancera, Program Director for Puente – including how to be accountable, collaborate with co-workers, and get to work on time. “They are smart, hardworking, responsible people. We treat them as adults and they really respond to that. This is probably the … Continue reading Puente summer youth interns work in the real world