Welcome to another episode of Inside Recreation, where we talk about all of the great things happening here at Montgomery County Recreation. I'm Monika Hammer and I'll be your guest host today. And I'm very excited to welcome our guests. We're talking about a wonderful program that the department offers called TeenWorks. Before we get into it, I'd love for you guys to do a quick introduction so everyone knows who you are. Haja, why don't we start with you? Tell us a little bit about who you are and your background.
Haja KumalahHi, everyone. My name is Haja Kumalah. I'm a recent graduate from the University of Maryland. I just did my master's in public health. I've been with the TeenWorks program. I started in Montgomery County Recreation in 2017. Um first employment was TeenWorks. So I'm happy to be here. Thank you.
Monika HammerWe're glad to have you. Andy.
Andy FernandezI'm a senior at Albert Einstein. I started TeenWorks about a year ago, but before that, I was a volunteer.
Monika HammerAnd welcome back, Derek. It's nice to see you again. Great. Tell us a little bit about your career.
Derrick FeltonI'm currently a supervisor with uh TeenWorks Youth Development Team. Um, been with the county for going, I think it'd be 21 years in a couple of days. So that's awesome. I've been with the TeamWorks team for about two years. Um, just looking forward to growing. Yeah.
Great. Thank you all for your intros. Derek, we'll stick with you. Tell us, uh, tell us what TeenWorks is for all of our listeners. TeenWorks is all about the background of the program. Yeah.
Derrick FeltonIt's uh it's a paid workforce development program for high school students 9 to 12 in Montgomery County. We place them in public sector and nonprofit positions throughout the county. They work with us for a number of hours that we deem necessary, and then they graduate and go off and be productive citizens in Montgomery County Recreation.
Monika HammerAwesome. Dig a little deeper into some of the work that the TeenWorks team is actually doing when our student employees are out and about um working with recreation.
Derrick FeltonYeah, so depending on the program, they're working with their work special events. Um, at times they supervise participants in an after-school program or any out-of-time, out of school time program. They monitor activities, they help special events with uh wonderful CPO team and much, so much more.
Yeah, we've had some great TeenWorks participants participate with our communications and public outreach team, helping us with social media, working at special events. So we definitely love the program, holds a special place for us. Haja, tell us a little bit about what TeenWorks was like for you and now post-graduate of the program, how it how it shaped things for you.
Haja KumalahUh, TeenWorks was a great experience. It was actually my first employment opportunity. Um, growing up, my mom was like, you can't get a job at McDonald's, you can't work fast food. Um, so in my afterschool program, I actually went to a high school in MCPS. I went to John F. Kennedy, and there was a Reczone after school program. And within that, I got to um connect with the recreation specialist and partnership with a leadership class that I was taking, and they connected me to the TeenWorks program. And so that summer, I got on board. Um, and at that time, we were doing conservation job corpse. So there was like a kind of like an internship opportunity with them. And then I started, um, I finished the summer with them and then went into the fall and where I started working and assisting in the after school programs. Um, it's been great so far. I'm still on payroll. Um, no longer teenworks, but I do support the teenworks program. And I think um just watching it grow and watching it change has been amazing, phenomenal, because it's it's grown so much. Um, I think, you know, the job preparation and workforce development has definitely been an asset to um high schoolers and you see middle schoolers getting ready to, you know, look into the program, and parents are eager to get their children signed up. So it's it's it's a great team to be a part of.
Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing all of that. Yeah, it's so cool to see a lot of our former teenworks grow as seasonal part-time employees with the department and even join our team as career full-time employees. We have some who've done that as well. So thank you for sharing and detailing your experience. Andy, you're you're a little newer to the program. So give us that perspective. And as somebody who's doing it right now, tell us a little bit about your experience.
Andy FernandezSo I first heard about the program because my brother started off as a red shirt. This was back in like freshman. So I was still like not old enough to become a teenwork. So I started volunteering. I did soccer for change, which is basically a soccer league for high schoolers. So as I volunteered, I gained the experience to know what to do. So then when I had the opportunity to join as a teenworks, I applied and I'm here now. I do EBB Lordman and I do soccer for change as well.
Monika HammerTell us a little bit, both each of you, right? Like what you would tell other kids who might be interested in the experience, why it's so valuable and why you might encourage them to seek it out and apply.
Haja KumalahUm, some advice or something I would tell is to not be afraid. Um TeenWorks definitely gives you the opportunity to grow and to take initiative on your own. I think just being a part of the workshops and the onboarding process, um, um, it teaches parents also to kind of let go a little bit and try to teach their students a little bit of individualism and leadership. So don't be afraid. Um, ask questions. Um, a lot of people are not familiar, you know, with how the process goes and they're a little bit hesitant, but they want to be a part of the program. So it never hurts to ask. Um, use it as a networking opportunity because you never know who knows who or what can help you in the near future.
Yeah, great. Andy, before we come back to you, Derek, that's a great segue to tell us how people can get involved in the program if they're interested in participating in TeenWorks.
Derrick FeltonUm, various ways. Well, one, you know, go to our website and it it uh help you navigate our NeoGov system, right? But first step one, we ask that you come to our information session where you get to learn about the program. Um, we learn about the program, we talk to you about interviews, whether you're interviewing with us or a different company. Right. Then after uh the information session, you come to an interview. We call it an interview session. You come sit down with us or job coaches or in somebody in the department, and we to we talk, right? We have a conversation. And then after that, you know, we offer you a position where team works and we place you where you're best fit with the department.
Yeah, I mean, it truly is an employment opportunity, right? Um, that's one of the things I really want to emphasize that we are setting up teens for their first professional experience, going through the job interview process, giving them tools and guidance on how to act professionally in the workplace. And our goal is to set you all up for success. Yes. Andy, as you continue in the program, how do you want to work on those skills and what else do you hope to get out of it and gain from it?
Andy FernandezAs I work as a teenwork, I'm hoping to gain experience to use it after high school. I want to learn skills that I haven't learned yet, and I want to become a better person in general. Use it as a good opportunity.
Monika HammerYes, that's that's great insight. And Haja, tell us a little bit about your future goals as well and how your experience in teenworks has helped set those. I know you talked a little bit about it before, but dig into it a little deeper for us.
Haja KumalahUm, just to dig a little deeper, um, something else I wanted to add is just it teaches you balance. Um, I always like to share my teenworks experience in the way of being a student and also working. So the teenworks program is very unique because it allows you to, you know, be a teen, but you're also learning experience, you're being a student, and then you're also getting paid, you know, to work with your peers or work, give back to the community. So um I love helping people. I love children, I love the community aspect. So I think just starting off um working in my high school and recruiting my peers to participate in those programs and also working, you know, with senior centers and teaching them technology and working summer camps and providing different services. Um, I just love the component and just someone who, you know, just navigating my career, graduating college, but still wanting to be a part of the community. It gives me something to lean back on and to give back, um, which I think is a great opportunity, in which other employers are not as, you know, vigilant or as understanding. So I think the program is um unique because you get paid to do things that you love. A lot of people, when they come to interviews, they share like taking care of younger siblings and you know, working with, you know, individuals with neurodivergent um backgrounds. So I think it definitely gives you the opportunity in working with different types of people and learning more about yourself, your patient levels, whether or not you're a good communicator, your time management. So definitely it teaches you life skills.
Absolutely. Life skills. Life skills for sure, things that we continue even as career employees who have been with the department 20 plus years or four plus years like myself, learn every day. It's so important. Um, and just thank you for touching on, you know, kind of the wealth of opportunity and experience that there is here at Recreation because we serve such a different population, right? Everybody from seniors to um those who need therapeutic recreation assistance, um, people with arts interests versus sports interests. Even TeenWorks has worked, you know, so well with their Tech Connects program to help um seniors who need some technology assistance. Um I thank you for bringing that up so we could we could talk touch on a little bit more. Um, Derek, I want to come back to you. Um, you know, this program is a huge um initiative for the department. Um, it's an important piece for our director, right? And the vision for for what we want to continue to provide for our youth here in Montgomery County, um, which is so important to give strong out-of-school time opportunities and employment opportunities. I know you've only been with TeenWorks for for a couple of years now, right, in this capacity, but talk a little bit about the vision, how we continue to evolve the program and engage with feedback and whatnot.
Derrick FeltonYeah, I think uh, as you just mentioned, like, you know, uh TeenWorks is an investment in young people. And I think Montgomery County Recreation put that at the forefront, right? You know, Gabe being here and has uh talked about TeamWorks kind of leading the way, right? So it is how it uh is very impactful, if I can say, because it it gives them structure, right? For a lot of our teamworks, it's their first job, right? And it gives them the it gives them structure, gives them accountability, because they have somebody checking up on them almost daily, I would say, right? Almost daily, I would say we check in with them. Um we're a professional team, you know, it's recreation, but we know how to have serious fun. Um, they have their schedule, they have to follow it. And I think just as a vision, we want to grow the program, right? We want to find more partners, find more uh sister agency, county agencies that we can send teamworks to work with, um, work with more nonprofits, connect with Montgomery College, and connect with some certificate programs and get teamworks involved with that and just continue to grow and help the young people in Montgomery County with their first jobs and be successful to the community.
Yeah, awesome. We love we love how we're continuing to focus kind of on the specialty pieces, right? Like coming and working with with the team I oversee here, communication and public outreach, or special events team or our other community partners. Just to kind of close us out here, what's kind of your standout favorite thing about teenworks? We'll we'll go around the group. Um, Haja, we can start with the USCU nodding over there.
Haja KumalahI think it's a little hard to say. Um, so I'll make it generic because there's so many different experiences and so many different things, but I think it's just helping people and just being able to make be an asset. Um, there's so much going on in the world right now, and I think with Montgomery County Recreation and the opportunities that are offered within the county, teenworks just serves as a gateway um in which teens can uh be equipped with their education, but also start their professional professional journey. So I think just giving back and helping people, um, you learn so much. Um, I always tell people like like myself, um, I started years ago. Um, I'm now back serving as a job coach. Um, and I think I always like to share my story to let people know where you can go from there. Um, and it always is something to lean back on. Um, within schools, you can use it as an internship opportunity. Um, you can work in community centers, you can work in aquatics. So there's a huge diversity within the programs and within Montgomery County Department of Recreation. So if you know that you're someone who wants to give back and wants to be a part of the community, I think that TeenWorks is a great opportunity for you. Um, it's it's also a gateway to also allow siblings to be a part of it too.
Monika HammerYeah. Um, I love the longevity piece, right? I'll just mention, right, I have two teenworks who started with me as TeenWorks placements two summers ago. They graduated from the program last summer and came back and continued to work with my team. And they're coming back this summer. So um it's been a great, you know, they're in college, but we have the opportunity for them to come and help continue to work with us um during their breaks and whatnot and grow. And it's awesome to see folks coming back like yourself and like those members who have supported my team as well. Andy, tell us a little bit about your final outstanding thoughts on Teen Works.
Andy FernandezI think it's a great opportunity. I like how it's a great way to build connections with everybody and you get the opportunity to work as a teen and just help yourself grow as a person.
Monika HammerDerek, any last thoughts?
Derrick FeltonYeah, I'm still gonna reiterate what Haja and Andy both said. I think the the highlight for me and and sitting is watching the growth from the information session. Well, I remember Andy's first information session, it was at Holiday Park, wasn't it? Was it Holiday Park, right? And then watching them, like you said, graduate and move on and continue to work, right? And building that alumni network, right? And as we build that network and Haja comes back and she helps with the, you know, where we are today, um, and other teamworks that that work with you, and and you know, they're someone in the military now, someone have moved and they're teaching or they're in college and they come back and they just want to help. So that's that's the highlight. That's the, that's the that's what it's about, right? Building that community, right? Building that teamworks community.
Yeah, awesome. Thank you. Great last words, Derek, to close us out. Um, as we mentioned before, you can visit our website to get any and all information on TeenWorks, MocoRec.com. You can also call our customer service team or our youth development team if you have any questions or are interested in getting more information. Thank you all for joining us today. We really appreciate you all sharing your experience, and we hope that others can get information and learn to grow with the department and participate in the program as well. And thank you to our listeners for tuning in. We'll see you soon again for another episode of Inside Recreation.
AnnouncerThis podcast is brought to you by County Cable Montgomery, your source for news and information from the Montgomery County government. Connect with us via cable, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube by searching for County CableMontGo.