For an entire week, the high school senior filled out rรฉsumรฉs โ four or five a day.
โI was in desperate need for a job,โ she said.
The hitch: Every place she applied wanted previous experience.
โEven fast food wants an employment history,โ she said. โI didnโt have it.โ
Now she does.
The 17-year-old is one of nine high schoolers getting much-needed work experience through the new Youth On Their Ownโs Resale Home Store, 1642 N. Alvernon Way.
The shop, which opened in October, offers students semester-long, paid internships while University of Arizona Enactus students teach them about the retail industry. The kids also learn about job interviewing and get help preparing rรฉsumรฉs.
They earn $9 an hour, which for these kids isnโt just movie money โ they need it to survive.
The nonprofit Youth On Their Own helps kids who lack a consistent home environment and donโt have a parent or long-term legal guardian helping them. Proceeds from the store go to the organization, which doesnโt receive federal funding and expects to help about 1,800 kids this school year. It costs a little more than $2,000 a year to keep one student in school.
โYouth On Their Own has to fundraise every penny to help kids stay in school,โ said Executive Director Teresa Liverzani-Baker. โThese are at-risk kids falling through the cracks, victims of abandonment, abuse. Kids need stability, a place to sleep โ things people take for granted.โ
The midtown store is stocked with merchandise thatโs donated but doesnโt look it.
Formerly Crizmac Art & Cultural Marketplace, the resale shop has two parts: a boutique up front with higher-end and new merchandise, including original pieces from local artists who donated their work, along with Mikasa china sets and Waterford crystal. A little patio boasts things for the garden while the back area has more of a thrift-store feel with items like a $3 camp chair and leftover supplies, like binders and desks, from the YOTO office next door.
โThe beauty of the store is you donโt know what youโre going to find,โ said Liverzani-Baker.
Students are responsible for putting together displays, pricing, running the cash register and, of course, customer service, which initially scared one participant who asked that her name not be used.
The 17-year-old high-school senior suffers from anxiety, so she was pleasantly surprised to learn โ through shopper feedback forms โ that she received high marks for her customer-service skills. Now she says she loves helping people.
โThe one-on-one interaction is my favorite part,โ she said.
Joyce Rodgers, a YOTO staffer who works with the interns, says itโs been great seeing the kids blossom.
โThey were so shy and introverted,โ she said. โTheyโve come so far.โ
And though sheโs sad the internship ends this month, the girl who once filled out all those job applications โ who hopes to go to Harvard Law School โ feels ready to join the workforce.
โIt will be easier to get a job after this,โ she said. โItโs a great way to prepare yourself for the real world after high school.โ
