BDCC Summer Internship Spotlight: Julius Jenson at the Brattleboro Reformer
Julius Jenson was one of 30 high schoolers and recent graduates who took part in the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Summer Internship program. After completing the four-day career education “Bootcamp”, Julius was able to land a position at the Brattleboro Reformer writing articles of his choosing. “The experience has been amazing. The Reformer has let me write what I want to write, and then paid me for it,” said Julius. “I will be forever grateful to BDCC for getting me in contact with them.” The Arts Editor at the Reformer summed up their experience taking on a student intern in one word: “Excellent! Julius’ writing could pass for a staff writer’s.”
On August 31, 2021, Julius published a film review on a recent horror release, “Candyman” which was showing at Brattleboro’s Latchis Theatre. Throughout the piece, he compares the 1992 version with the new 2021 version. Read the entire piece here: https://www.reformer.com/arts_and_culture/new-candyman-a-continued-exploration-in-prestige-horror/article_0c7bf2aa-0aa1-11ec-8a37-a3782f85f9b2.html
As an excerpt from the published film review shows, Julius is a creative writer who is not afraid to speak his mind:
“The lack of screen time for Tony Todd is also criminal. As the titular Candyman, one would expect him to show up quite often, but the film displays almost an aversion to showing him. The horror rule that the unseen is scarier than the seen does not apply to villains played by Tony Todd. His bone chillingly eloquent ministrations were perhaps the scariest part of the original, and yet he only says two lines in this whole film.”
Julius is one of approximately 40 participants, students and adult learners, taking part in the Summer Internship program run by BDCC with the support of the Vermont Department of Labor. Participants who completed the Bootcamp, or who had already completed on the job experiences, were able to pursue an internship or job shadow experience with support from Christy Betit, BDCC’s Pipelines and Pathways Coordinator and Casey Haynes, BDCC’s Talent Specialist. Many local employers responded to this opportunity by offering to host interns in sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, journalism, law enforcement, construction, and engineering. By the end of October, 15 participants will have completed internships with local employers, with wages paid through the Department of Labor.
One of the reasons BDCC’s Paid Internship program has worked so well over the years is that it (a) prepares employers to provide a meaningful work and learning experience, and (b) strives to ensure the experience matches each intern’s interests. More updates to come as we collect stories from people placed in a wide variety of internship opportunities with local employers for the months of August – October.
To learn more contact Christy Betit, BDCC’s Pipelines and Pathways Coordinator, at cbetit@brattleborodevelopment.com
