Summer internships give Suquamish youth an early start in the workplace
The interview worried Tataya Fontes-Lawrence the most. So much so that it almost kept her from applying to the Suquamish Tribe’s Summer Youth Internship Program.
As an eighth grader preparing to enter high school, she sat nervously before a panel of adults who asked questions about why she wanted to join the program.
“The interview was what made me terrified of even applying,” she recalled. Now in her second year with the program, you’d hardly guess she was ever afraid of anything.
For decades now, the Summer Youth Internship Program has helped young tribal members take their first steps into the workplace while exploring careers across tribal government. Many tribal employees working throughout the tribe today — in both government and its business enterprises — got their start as summer interns, including several current Tribal Council members.
This summer, 14 students are working across much of government.
Higher Education has again partnered with the 477 Workforce Program to combine paid work experience with weekly professional development sessions focused on résumé writing, practical skill building, and career exploration.
This year, the program is running from late June to early August. “We changed the dates to an earlier timeframe because last year our youth advocated for this,” said Higher Education Program Manager Kali Chargualaf. “Each year we have a pretty phenomenal group.”
Taking on challenges
Looking back now, as she works at the Tribal Administration front lobby preparing a new handout for Tribal Canoe Journey visitors, Fontes-Lawrence laughs at how nervous she was about her interview for the program.
“They were all so nice,” she said. “I was scared for nothing.”
Now preparing to enter her sophomore year at Kingston High School, Fontes-Lawrence is spending her second summer with the program.
After working at the Suquamish Museum last year, she wanted to challenge herself with something different. This year she is working in the Administration Department, answering phones, greeting visitors, assisting with projects and learning how the department supports the daily operations of tribal government.
Instead of staying at a single workstation, Fontes-Lawrence has spent the summer rotating among several members of the Administration team, giving her a broad look at how the department operates.
She has shadowed Tribal Council Executive Assistant Amanda Carper and Executive Assistants Rosie Bays and Cheayvone Swift.
“She’s been absolutely amazing,” said Swift. The arrangement has allowed Fontes-Lawrence to experience a wide range of administrative responsibilities. She has learned how staff manage schedules, joined them on shopping trips for community events and helped Emergency Management prepare signs and other materials for Canoe Journey.
“She’s just bouncing between all of us, and she seems to love it,” Swift said. “She’s always ready to jump in wherever we need her. She’s awesome.”
One of her biggest learning experiences has been answering phones.
“I don’t always know what people need or where to transfer them,” she said.
But those moments have also helped build her confidence by encouraging her to ask questions and learn something new each day.
An inside view
The experience differs from last summer, when she interned at the Suquamish Museum, where she learned customer service, worked in the gift shop and participated in management lessons with museum staff.
Among her new experiences this summer was sitting in on Tribal Council meetings with Carper, where she helped take notes on motions, resolutions, and council discussions.
Watching Tribal Council conduct business offered an entirely new perspective on how her tribe’s government operates.
The most difficult part, she said, was understanding the unfamiliar terminology and following discussions that moved quickly from one issue to the next.
“It’s a little confusing, but also really interesting,” she said. “I had no idea they handled so many different things and issues. There’s so much!”
Still, attending the meetings gave her a closer look at how council decisions are made and exposed her to programs and career opportunities she might not otherwise have known about.
Growing opportunities
During Tribal Council’s July 20 meeting, council members praised the Summer Youth Internship Program and encouraged organizers to expand opportunities for interns to shadow Tribal Council members and accompany them to regional and government-to-government meetings.
Council Member Jay Mills suggested interns could attend meetings with organizations such as the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission to better understand tribal leadership and advocacy.
Vice Chair Josh Bagley agreed, saying that could create additional opportunities for youth interns to see firsthand how the tribe serves its members.
Tribal Elder Kathy Kinzey also encouraged the interns to consider careers in medicine, law, natural resources, and tribal leadership. She told the students that seeing Native people succeed in those professions can help young people envision those possibilities for themselves.
“Sometimes you just have to see it to do it,” Kinzie said.
That resonated with Fontes-Lawrence, who has been considering a career in medicine.
Indeed, in that same meeting, sitting beside Carper and helping her with notes, Fontes-Lawrence found herself listening to a representative from the tribe’s new Kitsap OB-GYN program brief leaders.
She quietly mentioned to Carper that the work there sounded exciting.
“I would love to do that next summer,” Fontes-Lawrence told her. Carper promptly shared her interest with Council. “Yes!” said Bagley, “So moved!”
Start now
For students thinking about applying for next summer’s internship program, her advice is simple: Start now.
Fontes-Lawrence encourages students to start preparing long before applications open by getting involved in school activities, sports, or volunteer work. Those experiences, she said, not only strengthen a résumé but also give applicants something meaningful to talk about during interviews.
“Learn how to talk yourself up,” she said. “Talk about what you do well and make sure you’re very vocal about that.”
It’s advice a favorite teacher shared with her before her first interview and it helped.
Looking back, that interview she once feared became the first step toward discovering greater confidence — and perhaps now the career she hopes to pursue someday.
