Meet SYEP Ladders for Leaders Intern Jada Rice 

For Glenmore Plaza resident Jada Rice, the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) has been more than a summer job. Over the past five years, the program has given her opportunities to explore different careers, build skills, and gain the experience she needed to take her next step professionally. 

Ms. Rice, 22, has participated in SYEP every year since 2022. Her first job was at a dog grooming business, where she worked at the reception desk and helped wash dogs. She later worked at a daycare and as an office and school aide, helping prepare a school for the new academic year and creating bulletin boards. 

Each summer gave Ms. Rice an opportunity to gain new skills and explore different types of work. This year, she took her SYEP experience to the next level through Ladders for Leaders, which is a competitive program that provides job-ready applicants with internships with leading corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Her internship placement is with NYCHA’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships (OPPP). 

“Ladders to Leaders is providing me with more professional experience, and working with OPPP has allowed me to learn a lot,” Ms. Rice said. “It’s giving me the office experience I needed that can give me a leg up for certain roles I’m applying to and it’s also providing me with experience in community engagement. I have customer service experience, but that’s different than going into the community.” 

Ms. Rice is a recent graduate of Baruch College, where she majored in human resource management, and hopes this internship helps kickstart her professional career.  

As an intern with OPPP, Ms. Rice has supported the Book Rich Environment initiative by helping develop ideas for community outreach and encouraging families to pick up free books and promote literacy. She also helped with Project Move-In, which provides first-time college students with essential items for their dorms. Ms. Rice helped pack duffel bags, attended the distribution event, and prepared Lyft codes for students. 

“Throughout her internship, Jada consistently showed enthusiasm, curiosity, and a strong commitment to learning,” said Nichelle Hudlin, Strategic Partnerships Manager in OPPP. “She quickly became comfortable in the workplace and demonstrated strong communication and interpersonal skills. Her reliability, eagerness to contribute, and professional attitude made her a valued member of our team.” 

One of Ms. Rice’s favorite elements of her internship has been site visits to NYCHA community centers, where she and her colleagues check in with staff, learn about programs, identify needs, and assist with the resolution of any repairs needed. During one recent visit, she helped distribute headphones to residents. The site visits have given Ms. Rice a new perspective on NYCHA and the many services available to residents.  

“I didn’t realize how many community centers and senior centers there were,” Ms. Rice said. “We went to a community center in my neighborhood, and I learned how active the center is and the services they have. It was great learning more about what’s going on in my neighborhood.” 

In addition to more professional experience and more knowledge about NYCHA, Ms. Rice said she’ll also leave with more connections. “The people at NYCHA are extremely welcoming,” she said. “They’ve made my experience much greater than I thought it would be. I can come away from this internship with good connections to people: I gained friendship with my fellow interns and new professional connections with my colleagues.”