The WesGold Fellows Internship was created in 2007 in conjunction to the redevelopment of Parkwest Town Center, a 341, 000 sqft shopping center built by WPFSI and The Goldenberg Group. While it initially focused on large scale real estate development, it has since expanded to base around principles of personal finance, college planning, personal development and career planning. This is a wonderful experience that I wish I had had when I was in high school. If you are a current sophomore or junior, here is why you should apply to be a WesGold Fellow.
1. Lessons Learned
While WesGold Fellows is a “job”, what interns get out of it is much more. The interns are given tools necessary for success and the means to properly implement them. In this intensive eight (8) weeks, the fellows receive college level instruction on Personal Finance, Effective Communication, Principles of Investments and Entrepreneurship. The lessons taught are reinforced with real world examples. The interns meet with countless professionals and go on numerous field trips. All of these experiences are eye opening and interns gain insight of the financial realm and the world at large.
2. When I grow up I want to be…
As a high school junior or senior, you may or may not know what career path you want to take. Through the WesGold Program, you would have the unique opportunity to meet numerous professionals in diverse industries. The application review committee is invested in every accepted student and works to find folks in the professions of interest to the high school students. In addition, we encourage out of the box thinking so we invite other professionals too. In the past 5 years, we have had an impressive pool of guest speakers; from business owners, lawyers, educators to gamers, politicians and even college students.
These guest speakers have utilized their unique insights to provide interns with a deeper understanding of their professions, career development and imparted words of wisdom on the interns.
3. Who doesn’t love a field trip?
We believe trips provide our interns with exposure to the real world. Whether it is sitting in a board room with an executive or touring a college campus or visiting a museum, students get a view of a world outside their daily routine. Every week, the WesGold Fellows go on a trip to complement the classroom instruction and the lessons learned from guest speakers. We have visited buildings such as the Cira Center and the IRS building before their completion, toured most colleges in Philadelphia and several in the Tri-state area, toured the Senate Buildings and Congress in DC, visited the New York Empowerment Zone, been on air at WURD 900 AM and learned about the monetary policy at the Federal Reserve Bank, to name a few. These experiences are priceless and I don’t know many high school students that can say they’ve been to as many places in one summer.
4. Effective Communication & Public Speaking
Body language, voice projection, confidence, eye contact are some of the lessons we try to impart on our interns. At the end of each week, interns give a presentation on various topics discussed during that week. The interns research, design and deliver presentations on weekly topics. We train our interns to be great public speakers that way their voices are never lost in the cracks. They are equipped to express themselves either in educating others, persuasion or negotiations, all of which are essential.
Interns also submit a one (1) page paper on topics discussed. Essays are revised for accuracy in grammar and spelling and returned to the interns, who then make corrections. Papers are compiled and added to a final portfolio that includes PowerPoint slides, business cards, and updated resumes. This activity reinforces the underlying theme of effective communication. Writing is an essential tool that will be useful throughout school and one’s career so we make sure we emphasize this activity. These written pieces can also later supplement their college applications.
5. Getting Paid To Learn
Imagine going to school, and getting paid for it. Crazy right? Well that’s essentially what the WesGold Fellows is all about. We believe you can’t teach about financial literacy and saving if one has no source of income. 10% of each weekly check is automatically saved in a Wells Fargo account that we open for all of our interns. This emphasizes “paying yourself first”.
6. Fun
Last but not least, the program is fun! You get to meet other students from Philadelphia high schools, and spend your days either on a college campus or out and about in the city. There is a lot of positive energy and interaction and no day is like the day before.
For more information on the WesGold Fellows Summer Internship, please click here.
To apply for this wonderful opportunity, click here.
Juliana Muganza is the Community Enrichment Coordinator at WPFSI and was the WesGold Fellows Coordinator while she was a sophomore at Drexel University.
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