
	Saturday November 07 2009

Summer Internships 2008

We are excited to have had another successful summer with our summer high school interns. This year the group included: Kelsey Banker, a Junior at H.B. Plant High School; Christopher Butler, a junior at Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School; Seung-eun Jang, a recent graduate of Wharton High School; Adam Jeup, a recent graduate of Bloomingdale High School; Samantha Kulangara, a Senior at King High School; Yashobha Ranaweera, a senior at Freedom High School; Karianne Rivera, also a senior at Freedom High School; Breonni Sawyer, a Junior at King High School and Christian Williams, a senior at Wiregrass Ranch High School. The focus of this year’s summer research was on Positive Youth Development. See the final report (4MB PDF).

Interns for 2008

Kelsey Banker hopes to pursue a Bachelor’s in Business and minor in Foreign Language at Columbia University in New York when she graduates from H.B Plant High School; she will be a junior in the fall of 2008. She is a member of the varsity cross country team.

Kelsey enjoys spending time with her sisters, going to the movies, sports, and running. “It is a mental and physical sport; you can always push yourself to do more. It’s mind over matter.” She also enjoys windsurfing, jet-skiing, tubing, and biking.

Kelsey recommends this internship to others because she believes it provides youth with a voice in the community. She chose this internship because she wanted to raise college awareness for teens that might not have access to resources. Through this summer’s KnowHow2Go program, she has achieved this goal. “All individuals should be provided with equal opportunities,” states Kelsey.

Christopher Butler is a junior at Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School and will also be participating in dual enrollment classes at Hillsborough Community College this fall. He hopes to attend Clemson University to pursue a degree in law and ultimately become a successful sports agent. He is the Vice President of the Student Council and a member of the Youth Advisory Board for Florida Suncoast School Federal Credit. He volunteers at Florida Blood Services and at the USF basketball tournaments where he assists with various player needs.

Chris sees himself as a leader. He was recently accepted into the Tampa Bay Buccaneer Advisory Board where he will assist in game day activities and do community service projects in the Tampa Bay area. In his free time, Chris enjoys cooking for his family and going to the movies or the mall with friends.

Chris joined the internship to earn some money while learning about research and Positive Youth Development. He feels the things he learned this summer made him feel closer to his community and will help him in the future. The parts he enjoyed most were conducting presentations for the youth throughout Tampa Bay and finding out what youth would like to see improved.

Seung-eun Jang graduated from Wharton High School and will be attending USF’s Honors College in the fall of 2008, where she hopes to pursue medical research. She was a competitor in the International Science Fair during her senior year.

Seung-eun sees herself as out-going, diligent, and a stickler for manners. Her interests include playing Beethoven on the piano (she’s been playing since she was four), drawing, painting, and sketching. She won third place for a World Peace Drawing Contest.

Seung-eun said this summer “will top her list” because of the great people she met and the thorough research she was able to conduct. She enjoyed interacting with youth at different recreation centers in Tampa and encouraging them to achieve their full potential, which is why she participated in the summer internship. Born in Korea, Seung-eun knows what it is like to overcome obstacles and assimilate American culture. She mastered the English language in only two months!

Adam Jeup graduated from Bloomingdale High School and entered the Honors College of USF in the fall of 2008, where he hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. Throughout high school, he was a member of JROTC, and excelled in numerous national team and individual competitions. He was a swim captain for two years and a leader in the Mu Alpha Theta club. He excelled in mathematics and led the team to many competitions.

Adam sees himself as a serious, hardworking person. He has logged over twelve hours of flight time piloting Cessna 152 and 172 aircrafts. In his free time, he likes to go to the movies or mountain biking. He enjoys ice-skating and would like to learn how to play hockey.

Adam chose to participate in this internship to learn more about research with a psychological undertone, as he hopes to have a private practice in the future. He feels he learned more about problems in Tampa and what he can do to be a part of the solution.

Samantha Kulangara, a rising senior at C. Leon King High School in fall of 2008, plans to go to NYU to become a Doctor of Medicine. With a GPA of 4.0, she is a member of the National Honor Society, the Key Club, and the Hakuna Mattata Club, which promotes inner peace. She is fluent in English and Malayalam, her native Indian language.

Samantha loves Indian dancing, which she has done since age four and attends dance classes a few times a week. She enjoys giving to the community through volunteer work, but still finds time for shopping, movies, eating ice cream, and listening to music with friends.

Samantha was inspired by her older sister, who overcame cultural barriers, learned a new language, and went to college. She has a very close relationship with her family and states that they are “number one in her life.”

Yashobha Ranaweera will be a senior at Freedom High School in the fall of 2008 where she consistently challenges herself with rigorous Honors and Advanced Placement courses. She hopes to attend USF and major in Biomedical Science before enrolling at John Hopkins to become a Doctor of Medicine in Cardiology.

Yashobha is a caring, helpful, and compassionate young woman with a sense of humor. She volunteers at Moffitt Cancer Center at USF, the Shriners Hospital, and her local YMCA, where her compassion and virtues make her an exemplary model for local youth. She was born in Sri Lanka and has resided in Tampa for more than half of her life.

Yashobha believes in focusing more on positive attributes when intervening with children who are viewed as “problematic.” The principles of Positive Youth Development focus on building the pre-existing strengths that all children possess. She believes this strategy works better than attempting to eliminate or rectify problematic behaviors. It will “help them become happier and more productive.”

Karianne Rivera is a native of Puerto Rico and a senior at Freedom High School this fall. She has maintained a GPA of 4.5 and plans to take 6 AP and 1 honors class next year. She hopes to attend either NYU or Puerto Rico University to pursue her interest in Journalism.

Karianne sees herself as a strong individual who had to endure and overcome a lot throughout her journey in the United States. She participates in the Mayor’s Youth Corps and Journalism Club. Karianne also volunteers at the Little Women of Lutz because she believes that it is a very rewarding opportunity to help others and give back to her community. She spends her free time with her friends, listening to music and writing.

She chose to participate in the Positive Youth Development internship to gain some experience for when she goes to college. Also, she really feels strongly about spreading the message of Positive Youth Development in the Tampa Bay community.

Breonni Sawyer is a rising junior at C. Leon King High School this fall. She hopes to be accepted at FSU and aspires to be a criminal defense attorney.

Breonni sees herself as an individual with strong determination and goals for the future. She has a myriad of interests, such as food, music, dancing, singing, talking, fashion, and basketball. She loves to shop with friends, and go out to dinner with her family.

Breonni liked being a summer intern and the Positive Youth Development’s research experience. She states that “Every young child should have role models.” She feels the community and the youth in Tampa are improved by youth who have persevered through struggles and emerged to become role models for others. “I feel that all youth should have a voice in community. There’s no one better to ask about the growth and development of youth than youth themselves.”

Christian Williams attends Wiregrass Ranch High School where he will be a senior in 2008. He plans to pursue a degree in business at the University of Notre Dame and hopes to own hotel chains in the future. He plays football, is a member of the Student Council, the Senior Committee, and the Debate Club. Christian volunteers at the St. Joseph’s Hospital gift shop and the YMCA youth center.

Christian sees himself as a driven and determined young man with many goals and aspirations. He likes to play sports, hang out with friends, and most importantly, spend quality time with family.

Christian enjoyed the Positive Youth Development internship experience because he feels his contributions to the community are worthwhile and making a difference in people’s lives. Giving back to the community gives him a feeling of satisfaction and liberation. The internship taught him that he has the ability to work well with others as a member of a research team, and that he has the capability to help people and to be a useful resource.

2007 Summer Interns