Meet August Jackson. She is the 2022 Intern of the Year for the Baltimore region. During her senior year at Western High School, she participated in a tech internship with Byte Back, a nonprofit that works to close the digital divide by providing digital literacy and tech certification training.
“Something that I learned about myself during my Urban Alliance experience that I didn’t know before is that I am very capable. I am very capable of doing anything I put my mind to. I’m very capable of doing a lot. I can take on a lot,” she said.
A HEAD START AT CAREER READINESS
August made sure to exceed expectations during her tech internship helping thousands of young adults gain valuable tech skills, launch successful careers, and become part of the growing digital economy. One moment that stands out the most to her was when she was assigned to greet and onboard the new staff director for Baltimore.
With her mentor on vacation, and August being the only person in the office, she knew that she had to rely on her training to get the job done.
“Since it was my first time doing it, I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. So, I felt like I went above and beyond for my internship and for my mentor. She really needed this help because she wasn’t able to do it and she trusted me to do it.”
And August is not the only one who felt she went above and beyond. Her mentor at Byte Back remarked on her kind and benevolent spirit saying that her “attitude and way of being was always uplifting.”
I am passionate about staying consistent, especially at this time of my life...because I want to be able to stay motivated in this new journey.
August began to build on her skills and recognize key strengths she wasn’t aware of before, such as planning and staying in communication with her boss as she progressed in her internship.
As she continued her tech internship, August began to build on her skills and realize key strengths she wasn’t aware of before such as planning and staying in communication with her boss.
Right now, August is in her first year at Stevenson University studying business. She plans to continue to balance her classes and having a life outside of school.
“I am passionate about staying consistent, especially at this time of my life…because I want to be able to stay motivated in this new journey,” August said.
She said that Urban Alliance has opened so many doors for her. It gave her the opportunity to learn new things and gain a new love for information technology. She said Urban Alliance gives high school seniors who are at a point in their lives where they are trying to figure things out the tools to figure it their college or other post high school plans.
“I feel like every senior should be able to be a part of it and I am really going to push everybody that I know that is a junior right now that will be a senior next year. It’s a blessing. I love Urban Alliance and it’s very important,” she said.