RochesterWorks!

Gleason Mentors Talk about Summer Interns Work in the Digital Skills for Youth Program

Digital Skills for Youth is a program administered by RochesterWorks! that trains high school students in technology and business and provides them with paid summer internships at local companies. The rigorous eight-week program provides the students with a technical certification and equips participating youth between the ages of 14 and 18 in ten core competencies including time management, business etiquette, listening skills, interpersonal skills, and Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point. The program provides an outstanding opportunity for young people to be exposed to high-tech careers in the local workforce and to gain practical experience and be better prepared to make career decisions.

Meet Gleason’s Digital Skills for Youth Interns, and hear what their mentors have to say about their contribution to The Gleason Works:

Shawnta’ Williams
Assigned to Heat Treat
Mentors, Pat Schultz, John Keeley, and Julie Rivoli

Shawta’ will begin her senior year at John Marshall High School this fall. She’s been active in cheerleading, basketball, and softball, and she’s a member of the Student Court Law Program. Shawnta’ would love to attend St. Bonaventure University in the fall of 2009 to study business management, sports management, law and accounting to prepare her for a career in management or as a police detective.

Shawnta has worked with John Keeley and Julie Rivoli in the Heat Treat area. According to Julie, “Shawnta is an absolute pleasure to work with! She is extremely hard-working and conscientious. Not only has she been working on our Heat Treat work instructions, but she has taken on the additional responsibilities of transcribing our hard copy tool sheets in the Spindle Cell to an electronic format that will enable us to eliminate excess filing cabinets. This will allow us to open up some much needed floor space as well as provide us the “security” of having a backed-up electronic copy that can’t get misplaced, misfiled, or lost. Great work Shawnta and thank you for all your help and efforts!” According to John Keeley, Shawnta’ is a hard worker who has shown dedication and commitment to her assignment. She’s punctual, stays on task and has made a big impact in such a short period of time.

Shawnta’ feels that her Gleason internship has strengthened her communication skills and provided valuable experience working with a variety of people within the company. “This internship will benefit me in college and with my career goals by making me well-prepared for the work field.”

Dontrell Young
Assigned to Office Services
Mentors, Lucinda Gamble and Sue Siwicki

Dontrell is a student at Charles Finney High School in Penfield and will begin her senior year this fall. She is active in school athletics including soccer, baseball and softball. Dontrell would like to attend RIT, St. Bonaventure or Buffalo State University to study Forensic Science, Biology, Chemistry, and/or Criminology to prepare her for a career in crime scene investigation.

In Office Services, Dontrell has been using Microsoft Office applications including Outlook and Word. She has learned how to sort mail, track and order office supplies, and operate the multifunctional devices to reproduce documents with tab inserts. She has assisted the Office Services staff with completing urgent documentation requests. Gleason’s receptionist, Takiyah Harley, trained Dontrell on receptionist duties and operating the company switchboard.

According to Lucinda Gamble, “Dontrell has a friendly, outgoing personality and has demonstrated strong customer service skills. She is very organized and competent at multi-tasking and completing assignments on time, with exceptional quality. Dontrell has had the opportunity to utilize her computer skills and has made a significant contribution to 5S activities in Office Services by organizing filing cabinets for the colored paper supply so internal customers can easily find what they need. Dontrell has also updated shipping labels for domestic offices and ensured an adequate supply is always on hand.”

Dontrell feels her internship at Gleason has given her an idea of how it is to work in a business and office environment.

Adele Kibasumba
Assigned to Mechanical Engineering
Mentors, Mike Walker and Adam Odegard

Adele graduated in June 2008 from Thomas Jefferson High School. She will be entering Monroe Community College as a freshman this fall and hopes to study at Roberts Wesleyan or the University of Rochester in the future. Adele will be pursuing a degree in Nursing and looks forward to a successful career in the health care arena.

Adele was a member of her high school track team and a participant in the Black History Assembly. Adele has also contributed to the community by her involvement with the Day of Caring at School 17 and the Rochester Recreation Center. Adele has also provided interpreting services for immigrants and refugees new to America.

What does her mentor, Mike Walker have to say about Adele? “Adele has adapted well to the working environment. She began her contribution to Gleason by assisting in the scanning initiative of manual drawings. Archiving historic drawings from the vault into a digital format makes the information available to the rest of the company and simplifies the searching process. She has since moved on to evaluating the accuracy of SAP Bill of Materials vs. the Assembly Drawing Bill of Materials for critical clean room assemblies. This initiative is important for the throughput of spindles through the clean room and accuracy of work instructions to insure consistent products.”

Mike also said, “Adele is always on time, in a cheerful mood, and conducts herself appropriately for the business world. She shows up for work ready to get started and completes tasks in an appropriate amount of time. She is absolutely comfortable with asking other colleagues for assistance and is eager to take on more complicated tasks once she has mastered the beginning steps. She understands that while the more dynamic tasks will come as her computer and communication skills are developed, contributions that she is making to the Gleason organization are important ones.”

Adele believes her internship at Gleason will benefit her in her college projects and has provided her with valuable job experience.

The Gleason Works is pleased to have supported the Digital Skills for Youth Program and would like to extend our appreciation to Shawnta’, Dontrell and Adele for the contribution they have made to the Company. We wish them great success in their academic studies and their future professional careers!